A Timeline of COVID-19 – January 2020

The news cycle moves really fast, and can be difficult to keep up with. That’s why I decided to put together a timeline of COVID-19 (also called coronavirus). This blog post contains everything I could find about it from credible sources.

This timeline is chronological order – but – not everything that happened was released in the order that it happened. To make this clear, I will put an asterisk and a number next to things that were released out of order. Hopefully, that will make the connections clearer.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and now with this new virus (named SARS-CoV-2).

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a betacoronavirus, like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. All three of these viruses have their origins in bats. The sequences from U.S. patients are similar to the one that China initially posted, suggesting a likely single, recent emergency of this virus from an animal reservoir.

Early on, many of the patients at the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei Provence, China had some link to a large seafood and live animal market, suggesting animal-to-person spread. Later, a growing number of patients reportedly did not have exposure to animal markets, indicating person-to-person spread. Person-to-person spread was subsequently reported outside Hubei and in countries outside China, including the United States. Some international destinations now have apparent community spread with the virus that causes COVID-19, as do some parts of the United States. Community spread means some people have been infected and it is not yet known how or where they became exposed….

The CDC noted there was no known vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and no medications approved to treat it. Nonpharmaceutical interventions would be the most important response strategy.

The CDC stated is implementing its pandemic preparedness and response plans, working on multiple fronts, including providing specific guidance on measures to prepare communities to respond to local spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. They were able to adapt pandemic guidance developed in anticipation of an influenza pandemic for a potential COVID-19 pandemic.

(*1) July of 2020: The Trump administration eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China.

This was reported by Reuters on March 22, 2020, in an article titled: “Exclusive: U.S. axed CDC expert job in China months before virus outbreak”. It was written by Marisa Taylor. From the article:

Several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, the Trump administration eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China, Reuters has learned.

The American disease expert, a medical epidemiologist embedded in China’s disease control agency, left her post in July, according to four sources with knowledge of the issue. The first cases of the new coronavirus may have emerged as early as November, and as cases exploded, the Trump administration in February chastised China for censoring information about the outbreak and keeping U.S. experts from entering the county to help…

…No other foreign disease experts were embedded to lead the program after [Dr. Linda] Quick left in July, according to the sources. [Bao-Ping] Zhu [a Chinese American who served in that role, which was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2007 and 2011] said an embedded expert can often get word of outbreaks early, after forming close relationships with Chinese counterparts.

December 31, 2019:The Guardian reported: The World Health Organization (WHO) is alerted by the Chinese authorities of a string pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people. Patients are quarantined and work begins on identifying the origin of pneumonia.

December 31, 2019: World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of a pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China. (*1)

On 31 December 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown causes) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. As of 3 January 2020, a total of 44 patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology have been reported to WHO by the national authorities in China. Of the 44 cases reported, 11 are severely ill, while the remaining 33 patients are in stable condition. According to media reports, the concerned market in Wuhan was closed on 1 January 2020 for environmental sanitation and disinfection.

The causal agent has not yet been identified or confirmed. On 1 January 2020, WHO requested further information from national authorities to assess the risk.

National authorities report that all patients are isolated and receiving treatment in Wuhan medical institutions. The clinical signs and symptoms are mainly fever, with a few patients having difficulty in breathing, and chest radiographs showing invasive lesions of both lungs.

According to the authorities, some patients were operating dealers or vendors in the Huanan Seafood market. Based on the preliminary information from the Chinese Investigative team, no evidence of significant human-to-human transmission and no health care worker infections have been reported.

Public Health Response

National authorities have reported the following response measures:

One hundred and twenty-one close contacts have been identified and are under medical observation;

Environmental sanitation and further hygiene investigations are under way

WHO risk assessment

There is limited information to determine the overall risk of this reported cluster of pneumonia of unknown etiology. The reported link to a wholesale fish and live animal market could indicate an exposure link to animals. The symptoms reported among the patients are common to several respiratory diseases, and pneumonia is common in the winter season; however, the occurrence of 44 cases of pneumonia requiring hospitalization clustered in space and time should be handled prudently.

Wuhan city, with a population of 19 million, is the capital city of Hubei province, with a population of 58 million people. WHO has requested further information on the laboratory tests performed and the differential diagnoses considered.

WHO advice

Based on information provided by national authorities, WHO’s recommendations on public health measures and surveillance of influenza and severe acute respiratory infections still apply.

WHO does not recommend any specific measures for travellers. In case of symptoms suggestive of respiratory illness either during or after travel, travellers are encouraged to seek medical attention and share travel history with their healthcare provider.

WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the current information available on this event.

January 2020

January 1, 2020:The Guardian reported: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies a seafood market suspected of being at the centre of the outbreak and it is closed down.

(*3) January 3, 2020:The Washington Post was the first to report (in March of 2020) that U.S. Intelligence reports warned President Donald Trump about coronavirus in January and February. That article is locked behind a paywall.

Vox posted an article on March 21, 2020, titled: “Intelligence reports warned about a pandemic in January. Trump reportedly ignored them.” It was written by Riley Beggin. Here is the portion of the article that is relevant to January 2020:

US intelligence officials reportedly warned President Donald Trump and Congress about the threats posed by the novel coronavirus beginning in early January – weeks before the White House and lawmakers began implementing stringent public health measures and as the president minimized the threat posed by the virus in his tweets and public statements.

The fact those warnings were largely disregarded – something first reported by the Washington Post’s Shane Harris, Greg Miller, Josh Dawsey, and Ellen Nakashima – suggests Trump administration officials failed to take action that could have prepared the health care system to handle an influx of patients, helped Americans avoid mass social distancing, and saved lives.

Top health officials first learned of the virus’s spread in China on January 3, US Health and Human Services Secretary said Friday. Throughout January and February, intelligence officials’ warnings became more and more urgent, according to The Post – and by early February, much of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the CIA’s intelligence reports were dedicated to warnings about Covid-19…

January 3, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific Region posted a thread that began with this tweet: “#China has reported to WHO regarding a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The Govt has also met with our country office, and updated @WHO on the situation. Govt actions to control the incident have been instituted and investigations into cause are ongoing. 1/3”

January 3, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific Region tweeted: “We’re closely monitoring the situation in Wuhan & are in active communication with our counterparts in China. We’ve activated our incident management system across the 3 levels of @WHO (country office, regional office, HQ), & can launch a broader response, if needed. 2/3”

January 3, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific Region tweeted: “#China has extensive capacity to respond to public health events and is responding proactively & rapidly to the current incident in Wuhan – isolating patients, tracing close contacts, cleaning up the market, and searching for the cause and for additional cases. 3/3”

January 5, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) posted a tweet: “On 31 December 2019, WHO was informed of cases of #pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan City, #China. A total of 44 cases have been reported: 11 patients are severely ill, while the remaining 33 are in stable condition”. The tweet included a link to the WHO website.

January 5, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) tweeted: “Chinese authorities informed WHO that they have ruled out a number of causes of the outbreak of #pneumonia in Wuhan City. The pathogen is not influenza, avian flu, adenovirus, SARS or MERS. Work continues to identify the cause.”

January 5, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) tweeted: “Chinese authorities updated the unknown cause in Wuhan. A total of 59 cases have been reported, of which 7 are severely ill. The earliest to fall ill was on 12 Dec, the latest on 29 Dec. Investigations continue to identify any other cases or contacts.”

January 8, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific Region tweeted a thread which started with: “Chinese authorities have made a preliminary determination of the cause of the #pneumonia in Wuhan as a novel (new) #coronavirus. @WHO continues to monitor the situation closely and is ready to support #China to investigate and respond to this outbreak. (1/7).”

January 8, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific Region tweeted: “Preliminary identification of a novel virus in a short period of time is a notable achievement and demonstrates China’s increased capacity to manage new outbreaks. Chinese investigators conducted gene sequencing of the virus, using an isolate from 1 positive patient sample (2/7)”

January 8, 2020: World Health Organization Western Region tweeted: “Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses with some causing less-severe disease, such as the common cold, and others more severe disease such as MERS and SARS. Some transmit easily from person to person, while others don’t. (3/7)”

January 8, 2020: World Health Organization Western Region tweeted: “According to Chinese authorities, the virus in question can cause severe illness in some patients and does not transmit readily between people. (4/7)”

January 8, 2020: World Health Organization Western Region tweeted: “Globally, novel coronavirues emerge periodically in different areas, e.g. SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans. As surveillance improves more coronaviruses are likely to be identified. (5/7)”

January 8, 2020: World Health Organization Western Region tweeted: “In the coming weeks, more comprehensive information is reqired to better understand the status and epidemiology of the outbreak, the clinical picture, the source, modes of transmission, extent of inflection and countermeasures. (6/7)”

January 8, 2020: World Health Organization Western Region tweeted: “@WHO does not recommend any specific measures for travellers. WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the current information available (7/7).

January 9, 2020:The Guardian reported: The WHO says the outbreak in Wuhan was caused by a previously unknown type of coronavirus, a broad family ranging from the common cold to more serious illnesses like severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars).

Between 31 December and 2019 and 5 January 2020, 59 pneumonia cases possibly associated with a novel coronavirus have been reported in Wuhan, China with a common exposure link to Wuhan’s South China Seafood City market.

The cases showed symptoms such as fever, dyspnoea, and radiological tests compatible with bilateral lung infiltrative lesions. Seven severe cases have been reported, but no deaths. No cases have been reported outside of Wuhan. According to Chinese authorities, no human-to-human transmission could be documented.

Epidemiological investigations including contact tracing are ongoing and hygiene- and environmental sanitation activities in the affected market have been carried out in Wuhan.

Three EU airports have direct flight connections to Wuhan and there are indirect flight connections to other EU hubs. Considering there is no indication of human-to-human transmission and no cases detected outside of China, the likelihood of introduction to the EU is considered to be low, but cannot be excluded. However, more epidemiological and laboratory information is needed in order to elaborate a comprehensive assessment of this event and the possible risk for the international spread.

ECDC is monitoring this event through epidemic intelligence activities. For options for response and safety precautions, see EDCD’s threat assessment.

January 9, 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) posted a statement titled: “WHO Statement regarding cluster of pneumonia cases on Wuhan, China.” From the statement:

Chinese authorities have made a preliminary determination of a novel (or new) cornavirus, identified a hospitalized person with pneumonia in Wuhan. Chinese investigators conducted gene sequencing of the virus, using an isolate from one positive patient sample. Preliminary identification of a novel virus in a short period of time is a notable achievement and demonstrates China’s increased capacity to manage new outbreaks.

Initial information about cases of pnemonia in Wuhan provided by Chinese authorities last week – including the occupation, location and symptom profile of the people affected – pointed to a coronavirus (CoV) as a possible pathogen causing this cluster. Chinese authorize subsequently reported that laboratory tests ruled out SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, influenza, avian influenza, adenovirus and other common respiratory pathogens.

Coronaviruses are large family of virses with some causing less-severe disease, such as the common cold, and others more severe disease such as MERS and SARS. Some transmit easily from person to person, while others do not. According to Chinese authorities, the virus in question can cause severe illness in some patients and does not transmit readily between people.

Globally, novel coronaviruses emerge periodically in different areas, including SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012. Several known coranaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humas. As survillance improves more coronaviruses are likely to be identified.

China has strong public health capacities and resources to report and manage respiratory disease outbreaks. In addition to treating the patients in care and isolating new cases as they may be indentified, public health officials remain focused on continued contact tracing, conducting environmental assessments at the seafood market, and investigations to identify the pathogen causing the outbreak.

In the coming weeks, more comprehensive information is required to understand the current status and epidemiology of the outbreak, and clinical picture. Further investigations are also required to determine the source, modes of transmission, extent of infection and countermeasures implemented. WHO continues to monitor the situatuon closely and, together and, together with its partners, is ready to provide technical support to China to investigate and respond to this outbreak.

The preliminary determination of a novel virus will assist authorities in other countries to conduct disease detection and response. Over the past week, people with symptoms of pneumonia and reported travel history to Wuhan have been identified at international airports.

WHO does not recommend any specific measures for travellers. WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the information currently available.

HPS is aware of a reported outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China’s Wuhan City and is monitoring the situation with Public Health England (PHE) and international partners, including the World Health Organization.

The risk for the UK population is very low and the risk for travellers to Wuhan is low, but, ahead of the Chinese New Year this month, travellers are advised to take simple precautions such as practicing good hand, respiratory and personal hygiene, and minimise contact with birds and animals in markets in Wuhan as a further precaution.

If travellers returning from Wuhan become unwell within 14 days of their return, they should call their GP or NHS and report their recent travel…

In response, Thailand has implemented early screening at all international airports that receive flights from Wuhan. A small number of individuals with fever and respiratory symptoms on arrival have been referred for further clinical assesssment and lab testing, with the full application of measures for infection prevention and control…

January 11, 2020:The Guardian reported: The Chinese health authorities report the first fatality as a 61-year-old man dies from pneumonia in Wuhan. They revise downwards the number of sick people to 41.

January 13, 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) announced it is working with officials in Thailand and China following reports of confirmation of the novel coronavirus in a person in Thailand. The person was a traveler from Wuhan, China, and was identified by Thai officials on January 8, 2020, and hospitalized that day.

January 13, 2020: The Guardian reported: The virus spreads beyond China’s borders for the first time with a case emerging in Thailand, according to the WHO, The victim is a Chinese woman diagnosed with mild pneumonia who was returning from a trip to Wuhan.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with officials in Thailand and China following reports of confirmation of the novel coronavirus in person in Thailand.

The person was a traveler from Wuhan, China, and was identified by Thai officials 8 January, and hospitalized that day. The person is recovering from the illness according to Thai officials.

The possibility of cases being identified in other countries was not unexpected, and reinforces why WHO calls for on-going active monitoring and preparedness in other countries. WHO has issued guidance on how to detect and treat persons ill with the new virus.

The genetic sequencing shared by China enables more countries to rapidly diagnose patients.

WHO reiterates that it is essential that investigations continue in China to identify the source of this outbreak and any animal reservoirs or intermediate hosts.

Given developments, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will consult with Emergency Committee members and could call for a meeting of the committee on short notice.

On January 13, 2020, The Ministry of Public Health of Thailand reported an imported case of infection caused by the novel coronavirus recently identified in Wuhan, China. The concerned individual is a Chinese national who was found to have fever on arrival at Suvarnbhumi airport on 8th January. A clinical diagnosis of mild pneumonia was made after referral to a government hospital. Laboratory testing subsequently confirmed that the novel coronavirus was the cause.

WHO acknowledges the capacity of Thailand’s laboratories to do the complex genetic analysis to confirm the diagnosis.

Background:

Since early December, a number of cases of pneumonia have been detected in persons from Wuhan city in China. Chinese authorities identified a new coronavirus as the agent causing these changes.

Coronaviruses are common – many cause less severe illness such as the common cold; other are known to cause more severe illness (SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, MERS). Chinese scientists have sequenced and made available the genetic material of this virus – a remarkable achievement in such a short time. This will be critical to helping public health authorities around the world understand this illness and track it.

The way these patients became infected is not yet known. To date, there has been no suggestion of human-to-human transmission of this new coronavirus. There have been no infections reported among health care workers, which can be an early indicator of person to person spread.

At present, WHO does not recommend any specific health measures for travelers in relation to this event. WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the information available. If travelers develop respiratory illness before, during or after travel, they should seek medical attention and share travel history with their health care provider.

The World Health Organization is working with Thailand and other countries to track further infections caused by this new coronavirus and to ensure that they are prevented and controlled. This includes,

Providing all countries with a technical package of interim guidance, including: Common case definitions to ensure patients are identified quickly; Information on laboratory methodologies to identify this and other respiratory viruses; Guidance on how to protect health care workers and others; Guidance on clinical management is being quickly reviewed by global experts and will be shared once available.

Facilitating information sharing on this and other relevant health events between countries.

In the longer term, using the International Health Regulations to develop and strengthen capacities of countries to detect and respond to infections like the new coronavirus.

January 14, 2020: The CDC reported the onset of 2 additional COVID-19 cases in the United States.

January 14, 2020: The CDC tweeted: “CDC continues to monitor this ongoing investigation to learn more about this rapidly evolving outbreak #coronavirus. #2019-nCoV” The tweet included a link to the CDC’s information about coronavirus.

January 14, 2020:Health Protection Scotland posted a report titled: “Outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan City, Hubei, China”. From the report:

An outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, has been linked to a newly-discovered coronavirus.

As of 12 January 2020, there have been 41 confirmed cases and one death. The death occurred in a patient with serious underlying medical conditions.

Coronaviruses are a well-recognized cause of human illnesses that range from mild to severe. This outbreak has been linked ot possible exposure to infection at the South China Seafood City market in Wuhan. No cases have been confirmed outside the city.

While the risk to UK travellers to Wuhan is currently considered low, because of this general ongoing risk of avian flu in China, travellers are advised to take simple precautions such as practicing good hand, personal and respiratory hygiene, and to minimize contact with birds and animals in markets in Wuhan or elsewhere in China.

If travellers returning from Wuhan or elsewhere in China become unwell within 14 days of their return to the UK, particularly with respiratory symptoms, they should call their GP or NHS 111 and report their recent travel details…

January 14, 2020:World Health Organization (WHO) tweeted: “Preliminary investigations conducted by Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in Wuhan, #China”

…On the 13th of January, Thai authorities reported a confirmed imported novel coronavirus case in Thailand. The case is a tourist coming from Wuhan and was placed under isolation at Bamrasnarudura Institute of infectious disease in Bangkok. No further epidemiological and clinical information on this case are currently available to ECDC.

Neighboring territories such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Russia and Vietnam implemented entry screening activities to all incoming travellers from Wuhan in their transport hubs such as airports and train stations.

The airport of Wuhan has direct flight connections with some EU cities: Paris (France) with six weekly flights, London (the United Kingdom) with three weekly flights and Rome (Italy) with five weekly flights. Health authorities in the concerned EU/EEA Member States remain vigilant and closely monitor the ongoing situation in China.

ECDC is not aware of any implementation of exit screening in Wuhan international airport…

January 15, 2020:The Guardian reported: China’s health commission says it cannot confirm human-to-human transmission of the virus but the possibility “cannot be excluded”. The next day a first case of the virus is confirmed in Japan in someone who had stayed in Wuhan in early January.

January 15, 2020:World Health Organization Western Pacific posted a thread of tweets that started with this tweet: “Japan has reported 2019-nCOV in a man in his 30s in Japan who travelled to Wuhan. Japanese offcials report that he did not visit the Huanan seafood market which has been linked to many of the people with #nCov in Wuhan. The patient has been discharged from hospital in Japan.

January 15, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “It is not surprising that there are cases outside of China, and it is possible that there will be cases in other countries in the future. @WHO encourages all countries to continue preparedness activities. We have issued interim guidance on how to do this.”

January 15, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “According to the latest information we have, there is no clear evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission and there are no infections reported among health care workers.”

January 15, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “The fact that some cases do not seem to be linked with the Huanan seafood market means we cannot exclude the possibility of limited human-to-human transmission”.

January 15, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “We are still in the early stages of understanding this new virus, where it came from, and how it affects people. There is still many unknowns, and the situation may continue to evolve.”

January 15, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “Good progress is being made. @WHO is working closely with officials in China, Japan and Thailand regarding the novel coronavirus.”

January 15, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “Travel advice was posted by @WHO on 10 January. Based on currently available information, WHO does not recommend any restriction of travel or trade.” This was the last tweet in the thread.

January 16, 2020: The CDC reported the onset of 1 additional COVID-19 case in the United States.

January 16, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Wuhan-Linked Pneumonia Confirmed in Japan for First Time”. From the article:

The first case in Japan of mysterious viral pneumonia, which sickened many people in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has been confirmed, Japanese government sources said on Thursday.

A man in his 30s in Kangawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, has tested positive for the same strain of coronavirus that caused a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, according to the health ministry.

The man is believed to have been infected with the virus in the Chinese city, the sources said.

January 17, 2020: The Guardian reported: A second person, a 69-year-old-man, dies in Wuhan, according to authorities. That same day, the CDC announces that it will begin screening passengers arriving from Wuhan at three airports: San Francisco, New York’s JFK and Los Angeles (LAX) airports…

…Based on current information, the risk from 2019-nCoV to the American public is currently deemed to be low. Nevertheless, CDC is taking proactive preparedness precautions.

Entry screening is part of a layered approach used with other public measures already in place to detect arriving travelers who are sick (such as detection and reporting of ill travelers by airlines during travel and referral of ill travelers arriving at a US port of entry by CBP) to slow and reduce the spread of any disease into the United States.

CDC is deploying about 100 additional staff to the three airports (SFO, JFK, and LAX) to supplement existing staff at CDC quarantine stations located at those airports.

CDC is actively monitoring this situation for pertinent information about the source of outbreak, and risk for further spread through person-to-person or animal-to-animal transmission. CDC continues and more is learned about the newly emerging virus but is an important public health tool during periods of uncertainty and part of a multilayered government response strategy. As new information emerges, CDC will reassess entry screening measures and could scale activities up or down accordingly.

On January 11, 2020, CDC updated a Level 1 Travel Health Notice (“practice usual precautions”) for travelers to Wuhan City and an updated Health Alert to health care professionals and public health partners with new and updated guidance is forthcoming.

China health officials report that most of the patients infected with 2019-nCoV have had exposure to a large market where live animals were present, suggesting this is a novel virus that has jumped the species barrier to infect people. Chinese authorities additionally report that several hundred health care workers caring for outbreak patients are being monitored and no spread of this virus from patients to health care workers has been seen. They report no sustained spread of this virus in the community, however there are indications that some limited person-to-person spread may have occured. CDC is responding to this outbreak out of an abundance of caution, ready to detect people infected with 2019-CoV…

January 17, 2020:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted a press release titled: “Public Health Screening to Begin at 3 U.S. Airports for 2019 Novel Coronavirus (“2019-nCoV”). From the press release:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will implement health screenings to detect ill travelers travelling to the United States on direct or connecting flights from Wuhan, China. This activity is in response to an outbreak in China caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (2019 nCoV), with exported cases to Thailand and Japan.

Starting January 17, 2020, travelers from Wuhan to the United States will undergo entry screening for symptoms associated with 2019-nCoV at three U.S. airports that recieve most of the travelers from Wuhan, China: San Francisco (SFO), New York (JFK), and Los Angeles (LAX) airports…

…Based on current information, the risk from 2019-nCoV to the American public is currently deemed to be low. Nevertheless, CDC is taking proactive preparedness precautions.

Entry screening is part of a layered approach used with other public health measures already in place to detect arriving travelers who are sick (such as detection and reporting of ill travelers by airlines during travel and referral of ill travelers arriving at a US port of entry by CBP) to slow and reduce the spread of any disease into the United States.

CDC is deploying about 100 additional staff to the three airports (SFO, JFK, and LAX, to supplement existing staff at CDC quarantine stations located at those airports…

…On January 11, 2020, CDC updated a Level 1 Travel Health Notice (“practice usual precautions”) for travelers to Wuhan City and an updated Health Alert to health care professionals and public health partners with new and updated guidance is forthcoming.

China health officials report that most of the patients infected with 2019-nCoV have had exposure to a large market where live animals were present, suggesting this is a novel virus that has jumped the species barrier to infect people. Chinese authorities additionally report that several hundred health care workers caring for outbreak patients are being monitored and no spread of this virus comes from patients to health care workers has been seen. They report no sustained spread of this virus in the community, however there are indications that some limited person-to-person spread may have occurred. CDC is repsonding to this outbreak out of an abundance of caution, ready to detect people infected woth 2019-CoV.

A novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been isolated and considered the causative agent of the cluster of 41 pneumonia case in the area of Wuhan, Hubei province in China, and three travel-related cases in Thailand and Japan, arriving from Wuhan.

The majority of detected pneumonia cases reported having visited the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market recently before disease onset. For a few cases there was no direct connection with a food market. The Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market has been closed and disinfected. However, there is no information available on restrictions at any other food markets in Wuhan. If the sources of the infections are indeed certain animals sold in the market, other markets in the city may continue to pose a risk of infection. At the moment, there is no information on the source of infection or the transition mode. The occurrence of a few cases having no history of contact with the implicated market or other any similar market suggests the possibility of the infection source being even more widely distributed.

As of 16 January 2020, there is no clear indication of sustained human-to-human transmission. The report of two small family clusters in Wuhan and the exposure history of the imported Japanese case (history of contact with a person with an acute, not laboratory confirmed, respiratory infection in Wuhan), suggest the person-to-person transmission may have occurred. In the absence of detailed information from the ongoing studies in China, it is impossible to quantify the potential of the 2019-nCoV for human-to-human transmission.

The clinical information on confirmed 2019-nCoV cases reported so far suggests a milder disease course than that observed in SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV cases. However, in the absence of results from ongoing epidemiological investigations, it is impossible to assess whether there are population groups at higher risk of severe illness…

Current situation: On 17th January 2020, the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand reported a second imported case of infection caused by the novel coronavirus recently identified in Wuhan, China. The concerned individual is a Chinese national who was found to have fever on arrival at Suvarnbhumi airport on 13th January. A clinical diagnosis of mild pneumonia was made after referral to a government hospital. Laboratory testing subsequently confirmed that the novel coronavirus was the cause.

WHO acknowledges the capacity of Thailand’s laboratory to do the complex genetic analyses necessary to confirm the diagnosis…

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific Region tweeted: “The Republic of #Korea has confirmed a case of #nCoV2019 in a person who travelled from Wuhan, China. Korean authorities report that she did not visit markets in Wuhan or have contact with animals or other confirmed cases.” This was the start of a thread.

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific Region tweeted: “The #nCoV2019 case was detected by thermal scanner during entry at Incheon Airport. She is currently in a stable condition, isolated in hospital for testing and treatment. Contact tracing is underway.”

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific Region tweeted: “Since 3 January, Korean health authorities have strenghtened surveillance for #pneumonia cases in health facilities nationwide, and screening for travellers from Wuhan. Public risk communication has also been enhanced.”

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific Region tweeted: “@WHO is working closely with the Republic of #Korea, and other countries to continue preparedness activities, and with global networks of experts in relation to the novel #coronavirus (nCoV-2019).” This is the last tweet in that thread.

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific Region tweeted: “The total number of confirmed cases of #nCoV2019 reported to date is 205, including 3 deaths. All reported deaths have been in Wuhan, China.”

January 19, 2020:Australian Government Department of Health posted news titled: “Chief Medical Officer’s statement on novel coronavirus” It is a statement from Professor Brendan Murphy, Australian Government Chief Medical Officer, about cases of novel coronavirus. From the news:

The Australian Government Department of Health is aware of the cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from the region of Wuhan in China, and watching developments very closely.

The situation warrants close attention and an evidence-based response and there is no cause for alarm in Australia.

Under Australian legislation, airlines must report passengers on board showing signs of an infectious disease, including fever, sweats or chills.

Planes reporting ill travellers are met on arrival by biosecurity officers who make an assessment and take necessary actions, such as isolation and referral to hospital where required.

The World Health Organization position does not currently recommend any travel advisory for China, or additional measures at airports beyond our established mechanisms.

The Department of Health is aware that new cases have recently been identified, after a period of a week where no new cases had been identified.

Whilst there is no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission, the recent cases, several days after the closure of the fish market that was initially identified as the likely source, raises direct transmission as a possibility.

Importantly, however, there have been no reported cases of infection in the several hundred health care workers who have been exposed to patients in China.

All confirmed cases have so far been people who have been in Wuhan, or visited Wuhan.

Whilst there have been two deaths, one was a person with significant other medical conditions. Wuhan Tainhe international airport will commence exit screening of passengers.

The World Health Organization is closely monitoring the situation and is in regular contact with Chinese authorities to provide support required. The Department of Health is also in contact with the World Health Organization.

The Department of Health works in partnership with State and Territory Health Officers, to ensure that we continue an evidence based response in Australia. The Chief Health Officers will be meeting this week to further discuss the recent developments with this virus.

Ausralia has processes in place to enhance border measures in relation to a communicable disease, if required, working through our established Health Protection system.

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) started a thread that began with this tweet: “China has reported 139 new cases of novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in #Wuhan, #Beijing and #Shenzhen over the past two days. This is the result of increased searching and testing for 2019-nCoV among people sick with respiratory illnesses.”

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) tweeted: “For the first time, there are novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) cases reported outside of #Wuhan, within #China. These cases were identified because of searching and testing for cases outside Wuhan.”

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) tweeted: “WHO has provided advice to countries on how to identify people sick with the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV), how to care for them, and how to prevent spread.”

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) tweeted: “WHO has issued advice for individuals on how to protect themselves and others from the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

January 19, 2020: World Health Organiztion (WHO) tweeted: “An animal source seems the most likely primary spurce of this novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, with some limited human-to-human transmission occuring between close contacts.”

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization tweeted: “WHO urges countries to continue preparedness activities for the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV), and continue sharing of information. Speedy information sharing has already had a positive impact on the response.”

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization tweeted: “WHO is constantly analyzing data on the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as we recieve it, and working closely with global networks of experts on a range of topics.”

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization tweeted: “As more #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) cases are identified and more analysis undertaken, we will get a clearer picture of disease severity and transmission patterns. We will update and expand our guidance as we learn more.”

January 19, 2020: World Health Organization tweeted: “WHO is proposing studies on the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that can be done in #China and elsewhere to better understand transmission, risk factors, and where the virus is. These studies take time and resources. Some of these studies are being undertaken already.” This was the last tweet in the thread.

January 20, 2020: The CDC reported 1 additional COVID-19 case in the United States.

National authorities in China reported to WHO an additional 139 new cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection.

On January 20th, 2020, national authorities in China reported to WHO an additional 139 new cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection, that were detected in Wuhan, Beijing and Shenzhen over the past two days. This is the result of increased searching and testing for 2019-nCoV among people who are unwell with respiratory illness…

January 20, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “The total number of confirmed cases of #nCoV2019 reported to date is 222 (China: 218, Thailand: 2, Japan: 1, Rep. of Korea: 1) including 4 deaths (all in Wuhan, China). The number of people reported with 2019-nCOV in Wuhan, China, includes 15 health care workers.” This was the start of a thread.

January 20, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “It is now very clear from the latest information that there is at least some human-to-human transmission of #nCoV2019. Infections among health care workers strenghten the evidence for this.”

January 20, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “In addition, info about newly reported #nCoV2019 infections suggests there may now be sustained human-to-human transmission. But more information and analysis are needed on this new virus to understand the full extent of human-to-human transmission and other important details.”

January 20, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “@WHO continues to work closely with governments and experts on this, and progress is underway. Director-General @DrTedros will convene an Emergency Committee on #nCoV2019 on Wednesday, 22 Jan 2020.” This tweet is the end of the thread.

January 20, 2020:The Guardian reported: A third death and more than 100 new cases are announced in China, sparking concerns ahead of the annual lunar new year holiday which begins on 25 January and during which hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel nationwide.

More than 200 cases have been recorded with cases reported in Beijing in the north, Shanghai in the east and Schenzhen in the south. The virus is also detected in South Korea in a Chinese person who has arrived by plane from Wuhan.

In his first public comments on the outbreak, China’s president Xi Jinping says the virus must be “resolutely contained.”

January 21, 2020: The CDC reported the onset of 1 more additional COVID-19 case in the United States.

January 21, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) posted a report titled: “Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation Report -1. The data in it was reported by January 20, 2020. From the report:

As of 20 January 2020, 282 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV have been reported for four countries including China (278 cases), Thailand (2 cases), Japan (1 case) and the Republic of Korea (1 case);

Cases in Thailand, Japan and Republic of Korea were exported from Wuhan City, China;

Among the 278 cases confirmed in China, 258 cases were reported from Hubei Province, 14 from Guangdong Province, five from Beijing Municipality and one from Shanghai Municipality;

Of the 278 confirmed cases, 51 cases are severely ill, 12 are in critical condition

Six deaths have been reported from Wuhan City.

Details of cases reported on 20 January 2020:

Wuhan City: 60 new confirmed cases including three deaths.

Guangdong Province: Fourteen confirmed cases (one case was confirmed on 19 January) including four severe cases, no deaths; Of the 14 confirmed cases, 12 had travel history to Wuhan and two cases had contact history with cases; Nine were male and fives were female

Beijing Municipality: Five confirmed cases (two cases were confirmed on 19 January); Of the three new conformed cases on 20 Jan, two were male and one was a female; All five cases had a travel history to Wuhan and are currently asymptomatic.

Shanghai Municipality: One confirmed case in a female; Travelled to Shanghai from Wuhan on 12 January; Two contacts have been identified for follow up.

January 21, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan Confirms 41 People with Contacts with Pneumonia Patients”. From the article:

The Japanese health ministry said Monday that it has identified 41 people who may have had long-term contacts with patients of pneumonia caused by a new strain of coronavirus that has led to an outbreak of the disease in the inland China city of Wuhan.

While three of them have already left Japan, the ministry has been able to get in touch with all of the 41 people, and no new case of infection has been confirmed in the country, the ministry said.

The ministry will monitor the 41 people’s health conditions for about two weeks.

The ministry said last week that it has confirmed the first case of infection with the new coronavirus in Japan, noting that the patient is a Chinese man in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, who tested positive for the virus after returning from Wuhan.

According to the ministry’s announcement on Monday, 38 of the 41 people may have spent a large amount of time with the Chinese man at the workplace or home.

An on-going outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China has been linked to a newly-discovered coronavirus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that, as of January 20, 2020, there have been 205 cases including three deaths. Coronaviruses are a well-recognized cause of human illnesses that range from mild to severe. This outbreak has been linked to possible exposure to infection at the South China Seafood City market in Wuhan.

As of 20 January, 2020, all cases are people who live in, or have travelled to, Wuhan…

After consulting other Government agencies and the states and territories, we are now undertaking evidence based, proportionate additional border measures, particularly in relation to the three weekly direct flights from Wuhan to Sydney.

All passengers on these direct flights will recieve information abou the virus on arrival requesting that they identify themselves to biosecurity officers at the airport if they are unwell. If they have symptoms of an infectious disease they will be assessed by NSW Health.

Additional information will be displayed at all major international ports around Australia, with instructions on what to do if travellers have symptoms or if symptoms develop.

We are currently working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to update the travel advisory to Wuhan.

We are also preparing updated advice for doctors and other health professionals in Australia and will be providing advice on the Department of Health’s website.

There have been no confirmed cases of the virus in Australia.

Australia’s public health systems have identified a number of individuals who have presented with relevant symptoms and travel history to Wuhan.

So far, all but one have been cleared of the novel coronavirus. Laboratory testing results are pending on one remaining case in Queensland.

Key details of the evolving situation and suspected cases in Australia are shared across jusrisdictions through key expert bodies such as the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee and its standing committee, the Commuicable Diseases Network Australia.

Australia has world-class public health systems in place to manage any cases, including isolation facilities in each state and territory.

There is currently no vaccine available for this virus; supportive care is the best available treatment if a case is confirmed…

January 21, 2020:The Guardian reported: Health officials in Washington state report the first case in the US. The man is in his 30s and is in good condition at a hospital in Everett, Washington, after returning to the area last week from China. He was believed to have travelled to the Wuhan area.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed the first case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the United States in the state of Washington. The patient recently returned from Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of pneumonia caused by this novel coronavirus has been ongoing since December 2019. While originally thought to be spreading from animal-to-person, there are growing indications that limited person-to-person spread is happening. It’s unclear how easily this virus is spreading between people.

The patient from Washington with confirmed 2019-nCoV infection returned to the United States from Wuhan on January 15, 2020. The patient sought care at a medical facility in the state of Washington, where the patient was treated for the illness. Based on the patient’s travel history and symptoms, healthcare professionals suspected this new coronavirus. A clinical specimen was collected and sent to CDC overnight, where laboratory testing yesterday confirmed the diagnosis via CDC’s Real time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) test…

…CDC is working closely with the state of Washington and local partners. A CDC team has been deployed to support the ongoing investigation in the state of Washington, including potentially tracing close contacts to determine if anyone else has become ill…

…This is a rapidly evolving situation. CDC will continue to update the public as circumstances warrant.

…The first U.S. case of the novel coronavirus virus has been confirmed in a man from Snohomish County in Washington state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The patient, a man in his 30s, became ill after her returned to the U.S. Jan. 15 from Wuhanm, China, which has been battling an outbreak of pneumonia caused by the respiratory virus (2019-nCoV) since December. He sought care at Providence Regional Medical Center – Everett in Snohomish County, where he is recovering. Based on the patient’s symptoms, a clinical specimen was sent to CDC overnight, and laboratory testing confirmed the diagnosis. A CDC team has been deployed to Washington state to support the testing investigation…

…In the coming week, health officials will begin public health entry screening of passengers at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Screening was already in place as of Jan. 17 at New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco international airports. To date, no one has been discovered with the virus through entry screening…

On 31 December 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia unknown eitology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. From 31 December 2019 through 3 January 2020, a total of 44 case patients with pneumonia of unknown eitology were reported to WHO by the national authorities in China. During this reported period, the causal agent was not identified.

On 11 and 12 January 2020, WHO recieved further detailed information from the National Health Commission China that the outbreak is associated exposures in one seafood market in Wuhan City.

The Chinese authorities identified a new type of coronavirus, which was isolated on 7 January 2020.

On 12 January 2020, China shared the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus for countries to use in developing specific diagnostic kits.

On 13 January 2020, the Ministry of Public Health, Thailand reported the first imported case of lab-confirmed novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed the first case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the United States in the state of Washington. The patient recently returned from Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of pneumonia caused by this novel coronavirus has been ongoing since December 2019. While originally thought to be spreading from animal-to-person, there are growing indications that limited person-to-person spread is happening. It’s unclear how easily this virus is spreading between people.

The patient from Washington with confirmed 2019-n-CoV infection returned to the United States from Wuhan on January 15, 2020. The patient sought care at a medical facility in the state of Washington, where the patient was treated for the illness. Based on the patient’s travel history, and symptoms, healthcare professionals suspected this new coronavirus. A clinical speciman was collected and sent to CDC overnight, where laboratory testing yesterday confirmed the diagnoses via CDC’s Real time Revers Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) test.

CDC has been proactively preparting for the introduction of 2019-nCoV in the United States for weeks, including:

First alerting clinicians on January 8, 2020, to be on the look-out for patients with respiratory symptoms and a history of travel to Wuhan, China.

Developing guidance for clinicians for testing and management of 2019-nCoV, as well as guidance for home care of patients with 2019-nCoV.

Developing a diagnostic test to detect this virus in clinical specimens, accelerating the time it takes to detect infection. Currently, testing for this virus must take place at CDC, but in the coming days and weeks, CDC will share these tests with domestic and international partners.

On January 17, 2020, CDC began implementing public health entry screening at San Francisco (SFO), New York, (JFK), and Los Angeles (LAX) airports. This week CDC will add entry health screening at two more airports – Atlanta (ATL) and Chicago (ORD).

CDC has activated its Emergency Operations Center to better provide ongoing support to the 2019-nCoV response.

CDC is working closely with the state of Washington and local partners. A CDC team has been deployed to support the ongoing investigation in the state of Wasington, including potentially tracing close contacts to determine if anyone else has become ill…

On 20-21 January 2020, a World Health Organization (WHO) delegation conducted a field visit to Wuhan to learn about the response to 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-n-CoV). The mission was part of the on-going close collaboration between WHO and Chinese national, provincial, and Wuhan health authorities in responding to 2019-n-CoV.

The delegation visited the Wuhan Tianhe Airport, Zhongnan hospital, Hubei provincial CDC, including the BSL3 laboratory in China’s Center for Disease Control (CDC). The delegation observed and discussed active surveillance processes, temperature screening at the airport, laboratory facilities, infection prevention and control measures at the hospital and its associated fever clinics, and the deployment of the rRT-PCR test kit to detect the virus.

Data collected through detailed epidemiological investigation and through the deployment of the new test kit nationally suggests that human-to-human transmission is taking place in Wuhan. More analysis of the epidemiological data is needed to understand the fill extent of human-to-human transmission. WHO stands ready to provide support to China to conduct further detailed analysis…

…The delegation discussed with the local authorities their on-going efforts to communicat to the general public to expect more cases of 2019-nCOV to be confirmed, and to follow public health advice regarding infection control procedures. This is especially important at a time when seasonal influenza is at its highest, and over the Chinese New Year period when many people travel across China. The delegation and their counterparts agreed close attention should be paid to hand and respiratory hygiene, food safety, and avoiding mass gatherings where possible. People with fever should avoid close contact with others and seek medical help…

…On 21 January 2020, at the concusion of the visit the Chinese Government has relased the primers and probes used in the rRT-PCR test kit. This follows China’s rapid identification of the virus and sharing of the genetic sequence. The primers will assist with establishing real-time RT-PCR for the detection of 2019-n-CoV in other countries. Chinese experts also shared with the delegation a range of protocals that will be used in developing international guidelines, including case definitions, clinical management protocols, and infection control among others…

January 22, 2020: People’s Daily, China, the largest newspaper in China, tweeted: “No people in #Wuhan, C China’s Hubei will be allowed to leave the city starting 10 a.m. of Jan 23. Train stations and airport will shut down; the city bus, subway, ferry and long-distance shuttle bus will also be temporarily closed: local authority #WuhanPnemonia #coronavirus”

On 31 December 2019, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commision in Wuhan City, Hubei province, China reported a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown aetiology, with a common reported link to Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market (a wholesale fish and live animal market selling different animal species).

On 9 January 2020, China CDC reported that a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) had been detected as the causative agent and the genome sequence was made publicly available. Sequence analysis showed that the newly-identified virus is related to SARS-CoV clade. Detection systems have been developed and are available for the Member States through WHO and the European Virus Archive global catalogue.

As of 20 January 2020, a total of 295 laboratory-confirmed cases infected with 2019-nCoV have been reported, 291 from Wuhan, China and four travel-associated from Thailand (2), Japan (1) and South Korea (1). Four deaths have been reported among the cases. Chinese health authorities have confirmed human-to-human transmission and 15 healthcare workers are reported to have been infected in Wuhan, and in China. It is possible that further cases will also be detected among travelers from Wuhan to other countries…

January 22, 2020: The CDC reported the onset of 1 more additional COVID-19 case in the United States.

As of 21 January 2020, a total of 314 confirmed cases have been reported for novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) globall

Of the 314 cases reported, 309 cases were reported from China, two from Thailand, one from Japan and one from the Republic of Korea

Cases in Thailand, Japan and the Republic of Korea were exported from Wuhan City, China

Of the 309 confirmed cases in China, 270 cases were confirmed from Wuhan

Of the 270 cases, 51 cases are severely ill and 12 are in critical condition

Six deaths have been reported in Wuhan

Four of five deaths, with available epidemiological information, had underlying cormorbidities

To date, sixteen health care workers have been infected

Reported incidence of confirmed 2019-nCoV cases

Hubei Province: 270

Guangdong Province: 17

Beijing Municipality: 5

Shanghai Municipality: 2

Chongqing Municipality: 1

Zhejiang Province: 5

Jiangxi Province: 2

Sichuan Province: 1

Tianjin Municipality: 2

Henan Province: 1

Shandong Province: 1

Yunnan Province: 1

Taiwan, China: 1

Japan: 1

Republic of Korea: 1

Thailand: 2

TOTAL: 314

January 22, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan Struggling to Prepare for Coronavirus Threat”. From the article:

As Japan prepares for an influx of Chinese visitors during the Lunar New Year holiday period, hotels and other commercial facilities are struggling to devise measures for preventing the spread of a new coronavirus strain from China.

One major hotel chain operator said that it does not plan to take special measures against the threat of coronavirus. Hotel reception staff are unable to take ordinary prevention measures such as wearing surgical masks from a hospitality persepctive.

Another hotel company, Prince Hotels Inc., plans to post warnings around the lobby in Japanese, English and Chinese calling on visitors to alert hotel staff if they feel unwell.

Restaurant chain giants McDonald’s Co. (Japan) and Ootoya Holdings Co. <2705> are also unable to take special measures, falling back on ordinary hygiene management measures such as making employees wash their hands.

One source from a major department store operator said that companies’ hands are tied, as measures to distinguish Chinese visitors from other people would be infeasible.

January 22, 2020:The Guardian reported: European airports from London to Moscow step up checks on flights from Wuhan.

The WHO’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he is postponing the decision on whether or not to declare a global health emergency. “I have decided to ask the emergency committee to meet again tomorrow to continue their discussion,” he said, referring to a group of international experts who met for several hours at the WHO in Geneva.

January 22, 2020:The Guardian posted an article titled: “Coronavirus: Heathrow to screen arrivals from affected Chinese region”. It was written by Sarah Boseley and Alexandra Topping. From the article:

People arriving at Heathrow airport from the Chinese city at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak will be met by health teams including a doctor, the government has announced, as UK infectious disease experts doubled their estimate of the likely number of cases to 4,000.

Three direct flights a week arrive in the UK from Wuhan, where the outbreak began and which has been linked to a market selling seafood and wild animals. The type of coronavirus has never been identified before and it has been confirmed that human-to-human transmission is taking place. About 460 people have become ill and nine have died so far in China…

…Heathrow has put health screening in place before – notably during the huge west Africa Ebola outbreak, when all arrivals from the three affected countries, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, had their temperatures checked and filled out questionnaires about any possible exposure to the virus.

There will be warning messages during the direct flights from Wuhan, said the Department of Health and Social Care, and captains will be required to report on any passenger feeling unwell before takeoff.

Flights will arrive in an isolated area of Terminal 4, where they will be met by a port health team including a medical inspector and a doctor. All passengers will be asked about their health and checked for symptoms, including their temperature. They will be given instructions on what to do if they begin to feel in once in the UK…

January 22, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) tweeted: “The total number of confirmed cases if the 2019 novel #coronavirus reported globally to date is 581. The total number of cases from mainland China is 571. This includes 95 severe cases and 17 people who have died. #nCoV2019”. This tweet was the start of a thread.

January 22, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) tweeted: “Hong Kong SAR has reported 1 case of #nCoV2019, Macao SAR has reported 1 case, and Taiwan, China has reported 1 case. All of these cases are people who travelled from Wuhan.”

January 22, 2020: World Health Organization (WHO) tweeted: “Japan, the Republic of #Korea and the #USA have each reported 1 case of novel #coronavirus. #Thailand has reported 4 cases of #nCoV2019.” This was the last tweet in the thread.

A total of 581 confirmed cases have been reported for novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) globally.

Of the 581 cases reported, 571 cases were reported from China.

Cases have been reported in Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Taipei Municipality, China, Macau Special Administrative Region, United States of America and the Republic of Korea, all had travel history to Wuhan.

Of the 571 confirmed cases in China, 375 cases were confirmed from Hubei Province.

Of the 571 cases, 95 cases are severely ill.

Seventeen deaths have been reported (all from Hubei Province).

Reported incidence of confirmed 2019-nCoV cases:

Hubei Province: 375

Unspecified: 131

Guangdong Province: 26

Beijing Municipality: 10

Shanghai Municipality: 9

Chongqing Municipality: 5

Zhejiang Province: 5

Jiangxi Province: 2

Sichuan Province: 2

Tianjin Municipality: 2

Henan Province: 1

Hunan Province: 1

Shandong Province: 1

Shandong Province: 1

Yunnan Province: 1

Taipei Municipality: 1

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: 1

Macau Special Administrative Region: 1

Japan: 1

Republic of Korea: 1

Thailand: 4

United States of America: 1

TOTAL: 581

January 23, 2020:The Guardian posted an article titled: “China virus: ten cities locked down and Bejing festivities scrapped”. It was written by Lily Kuo. From the article:

Chinese authorities have imposed lockdown measures on ten cities in an unprecedented effort to contain the outbreak of the deadly new virus that has made hundreds of people ill an spread to other parts of the world during the busy lunar new year travel period.

Authorities banned transport links from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, on Thursday morning, suspending buses, subways, ferries, and shutting the airport and train stations to outgoing passengers. Later in the day, the nearby central Chinese cities of Huanggang and Ezhou announced similar measures. Travel restrictions were also placed on the smaller cities of Chibi and Zhijang.

Starting at midnight, long-distance buses, the rapid transit system, and the train station in Huanggang would be shut, according to a notice from the local government. Cinemas, internet cafes and other entertainment venues would all stop operation. Residents should not leave the city, except for “special reasons”.

A government notice in Ezhou said the city’s railway would stop operating on Thursday evening. In nearby Chibi, authorities said buses and rural transport links would be halted. Officials ordered tour operators to cancel operations and said no more large-scale cultural events were to be held.

On Friday, Huangshi in Hubei province also halted public transport. The People’s Daily newspaper said Xiantao, Enshi, Qianjang and Xianning were also subject to travel restrictions.

There have been 830 confirmed cases in China of the coronavirus, from the same family of viruses that gave rise to Sars. Chinese authorities say 95 patients remain in a critical condition.

On Thursday, Hebei’s provincial health authority said an infected patient had died, marking the first confirmed death outside Hubei provence, where the outbreak began. On Friday morning the official death toll rose to 25…

January 23, 2020:The Guardian reported: As Chinese authorities say 17 people have died and more than 500 have been infected, air and rail departures from Wuhan are suspended.

January 23, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japanese Man Develops Severe Pneumonia in Wuhan”. From the article:

A Japanese man has been hospitalized in the Chinese city of Wuhan due to severe pneumonia, an official at the Japanese embassy in Beijing said Thursday.

Authorities are investigating whether the pneumonia was caused by a new strain of coronavirus.

Cases of pneumonia stemming from the virus are spreading, mainly in China. The Chinese government confirmed 571 cases in the country as of midnight Wednesday (4 p.m. GMT).

January 23, 2020: Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus tweeted: “I am not declaring the new #coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern today. The Emergency Committee was divided over whether the outbreak represents a PHEIC. This is an emergency in China, but has not yet become a global health emergency.” This tweet was the start of a short thread.

January 23, 2020: Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysys tweeted: “This should not be taken as a sign that @WHO does not think the situation is serious. WHO is following this new #coronavirus outbreak every minute of every day, at county, regional and global level. I will not hesitate to reconvene the committee at a moment’s notice if needed.” This tweet was the end of the thread.

January 23, 2020: The Hollywood Reporter posted an article titled: “Shanghai Disney Resort Shuts Down as Coronavirus Spreads”. It was written by Patrick Brzeski. The article included Disney’s full statement:

In response to prevention and control of the disease outbreak and in order to ensure the health and safety of our guests and Cast, Shanghai Disney Resort is temporarily closing Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown including Walt Disney Grand Theater and the Wishing Star Park, starting January 25, 2020. We will continue to carefully monitor the situation and be in close contact with the local government, and we will announce the reopening date upon confirmation.

Shanghai Disney Resort will assist in the refund for guests who have purchased tickets for admission to Shanghai Disneyland, have booked a resort hotel, or have booked tickets for Beauty and the Beast Mandarin Production through the original ticket purchase channel, and we will introduce the detailed procedure and guidelines via the resort’s official platforms as soon as possible.

We wish our guests a healthy and happy Spring Festival!!

January 23, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “The total number of confirmed cases of the 2019 novel #coronavirus reported globally to date is 845. The total number of cases from mainland China is 830. This includes 177 severe cases and 25 people who have died. #nCoV2019”. This tweet was the start of a thread.

January 23, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “Hong Kong SAR has reported a total of 2 cases of #nCoV2019, Macao SAR has reported 2 cases, and Taiwan, China has reported 1 case.”

January 23, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “Understanding of #nCoV2019 is still evolving. Based on current info, most confirmed cases are not severe. Among those who have died, most are over 65 yrs with underlying health conditions. But there is still much more to learn about this virus, and we continue to monitor closely.”

January 23, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “WHO DG @DrTedros has not declared #nCoV2019 a public health emergency of international concern. He stressed that it is an emergency in China, but not yet a global health emergency. @WHO is following #nCoV2019 very closely and the Emergency Committee may be reconvened at any time.”

January 23, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japanese Firms Banning Travel to Wuhan due to Pneumonia Outbreak”. From the article:

More and more Japanese companies are banning their employees from traveling to the Chinese city of Wuhan due to the spread of pneumonia caused by a new strain of coronavirus.

Some Japanese department stores have allowed their workers to wear face masks as visitors from China are expected to increase during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.

Honda Motor Co. <7267> which has a plant in Wuhan, where the new coronavirus originated, banned business trips there in principle, starting on Wednesday. The plant will be closed until Feb. 2 due to the holiday.

Subaru Corp. <7270> notified workers that nonessential trips to China should be avoided.

“We’ll secure safety for our employees and prevent a spread of the disease,” a company official said.

January 24, 2020: The CDC reported the onset of 1 more additional COVID-19 case in the United States.

A total of 846 confirmed cases have been reported for novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) globally.

Of the 846 cases reported, 830 were reported from China.

Eleven confirmed cases have been reported outside of China in six countries.

Of these 11 confirmed cases, 10 had travel history to Wuhan

One confirmed case in Vietnam had no travel history to any part of China but was a family member of a confirmedcase who visited Wuhan. This suggests an instance of human to human transmission that occured in Vietnam.

Of the 830 confirmed cases in China, 375 cases were confirmed in Hubei Province.

Of the 830 cases, 177 cases have been reported as severely ill.

Twenty-five deaths have been reported to date.

On 24 January 2020, the number of confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV has increased by 265 cases since the last situation report published on 23 January 2020, including China which reported additional 259 confirmed cases.

Reported incidence of confirmed 2019-nCoV cases:

China:

Unspecified: 384

Hubei Province – 375

Guangdong Province – 32

Beijing Municipality – 10

Shanghai Municipality – 9

Chongqing Municipality – 5

Zhejiang Province – 5

Jiangxi Province – 2

Sichuan Province – 2

Tianjin Municipality – 2

Henan Province – 1

Hunan Province – 1

Shandong Province – 1

Taipei Municipality – 1

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region – 2

Macau Special Administrative Region – 2

Japan – 1

Republic of Korea – 2

Viet Nam – 2

Republic of Singapore – 1

Thailand – 4

United States of America – 1

TOTAL: 846

January 24, 2020: President Trump tweeted: “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”

…A second case of a novel coronavirus has been confirmed in a Chicago woman and is one of 63 potential cases under investigation in 22 states.

The case follows confirmation of the virus earlier this week in a Washington state man in his 30s. Eleven other patients have tested negative, and 50 are waiting on test results, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…

…The Chicago woman is in her 60s and returned from Wuhan, China, the center of the new virus’ outbreak on Jan. 13, She fell ill several days later. She has had limited contact with other people since her return and is being treated in an isolation room at a local hospital where authorities said she is doing well. Those known to have come in contact with her have not displayed symptoms of illness…

…The global case count has reached 881, and there have been 26 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. While most of the cases are in China, cases have been confirmed in Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the U.S….

…In the past week, the CDC has screened about 2,000 people arriving from Wuhan at international airports in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Chicago and Atlanta. Officials said they are continuing to evaluate their approach as China implements new travel restrictions in Wuhan and other cities.

January 24, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Second Case of Wuhan-Linked Pneumonia Found in Japan”. From the article:

The Japanese health ministry said Friday that it has confirmed the country’s second case of infection of a new strain of coronavirus believed to be behind the pneumonia outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

A man in his 40s who is a resident of Wuhan developed pneumonia and tested positive for the new virus during his visit to Japan as a tourist. He is currently hospitalized in Tokyo.

January 24, 2020: CGTN, China Global Television Network, tweeted: “Liang Wudong, a doctor at Hubei Xinhua Hospital who had been at the front line of the #CoronavirusOutbreak battle in Wuhan, dies from the virus at age 62.”

January 24, 2020: Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison tweeted: “Update on Coronavirus”. The tweet included a screenshot of that update, which said:

Today the first case of Coronavirus has been confirmed in Australia.

The patient, a man from Wuhan in China, flew to Melbourne from Guangong on 19 January. He is now being treated in isolation in Victoria. Authorities are tracing and contacting all passengers who traveled on the same flight to Melbourne and anyone he has been in contact with since.

As previously advised by the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy it was always expected that Australia would see cases of this virus.

The Australian Government has already enacted new measures to protect Australians. From today, anyone arriving in Australia on flights from other parts of China will be met an provided instructions on what to do if they have symptoms, or start to develop them.

Australians are being strongly advised not to travel to Wuhan or the Hubei Province in China. Chinese authorities have also imposed travel restrictions in at least five cities in the Hubei province. Australians travelling to these area may not be able to leave until restrictions are lifted.

I am receiving daily briefings from health authorities and the Chief Medical Officer and we will continue to monitor and take action where necessary.

Australia has a first class health system and we are extremely well prepared to diagnose, manage and isolate any case of Coronavirus.

January 24, 2020:Australian Government Department of Health posted news titled: “Chief Medical Officer’s update on novel coronavirus”. It is a transcript of Professor Brendan Murphy’s press conference about novel coronavirus. From the transcription:

We’ve just completed a meeting with the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, which consists of all the senior public health officials in every state and territory in the Commonwealth and a range of technical experts. And I’ve also just finished briefing the Prime Minister, Minister Hunt, the Minister for Health, and the Foreign Minister on the discussions at that meeting and the current latest data.

So, the latest data from China is that there are now 844 cases worldwide; 830 in China, 14 cases in locations outside of China, and you can see some of those on our map up on the wall there. There are now 25 deaths 24 of which have been in Wuhan, the main epicenter of this outbreak, and one in someone in Beijing. And again, the story around the deaths are that they have pretty much been elderly people or people with other medical conditions. People who are generally frail. That’s the word we’re getting from China. Approximately 25 per cent of people who contract this infection and who have been detected and diagnosed seem to get a more severe illness. But we do know, or we do suspect, that there are a number of additional cases that are so mild that they haven’t come to attention and been detected or diagnosed at the moment…

…In Australia, we still have no confirmed cases. There are several patients who are being tested every day. People who have had a relevant travel history and who have developed respiratory symptoms. None of those have turned out to be positive. But, as I’ve said on previous occasions, should we get a positive case in Australia, we are extremely well-prepared to isolate and manage them. The Health Protection Principle Committee discussed a range of materials which are now on our Department of Health wbsite. There’s now good clinical guidelines. We’ve provided new information to every health practicioner, relevant health practitioner, in the country and emergency department, and there’s a lot of new information up on our website…

Japan faces rising risks of infectious diseases being carried in from abroad, as more than 40 million people are expected to visit the country in 2020, when the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be held.

While the outbreak in China of pneumonia believed to be linked to a new strain of coronavirus has emerged as a new source of concern, Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases has identified measles, invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), Middle infectious diseases that require caution during the 2020 Tokyo Games, after studying factors such as how contagious they are and whether there is a risk of group infections.

Measles is spreading in the Philippines and other places. Japan was verified in 2015 by the World Health Organization as having achieved measles elimination but continues to see group infections due to imported cases.

In 2015, four people from Scotland and elsewhere were infected with IMD at an international scouting even in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. Another infection case was reported last year after the Rugby World Cub in Japan.

Although rare in Japan, IMD is one of the infectious diseases that people must exercise vigilance against, according to the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases.

January 24, 2020:Bloomberg posted an article titled: “Malaysia Reports First Confirmed Cases of Novel Coronavirus”. It was written by Anuradha Raghu. From the article:

Malaysia reported its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus, after three members of a family tested positive.

A woman and her two grandchildren — Chinese nationals from Wuhan — traveled to Malaysia from Singapore, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said in a briefing in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. They are related to a 66-year-old man and his son who had tested positive for the virus in Singapore.

Singapore health authorities tipped Malaysia off that the family had entered the country. The three positive cases in Malaysia are in stable condition with cough symptoms, and have been isolated, the health minister said. Five others who were traveling with them have tested negative for the virus, Malaysia said.

January 24, 2020:Reuters posted an article titled: “Malaysia confirms fourth case of coronavirus infection”. It was written by Joseph Sipalan. From the article:

Malaysia reported a fourth case of coronavirus infection late Saturday, just hours after it announced its first confirmed cases.

The newly identified virus can cause pneumonia, which has been deadly in some cases. It is still unclear how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said the latest case was a 40-year-old man from Wuhan, China, who was part of a tour group that traveled by bus to the southern state of Johor from Singapore on Wednesday.

The man suffered from fever the next day and sought treatment at a hospital in Johor. Tests by Malaysia’s Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre confirmed he was suffering from the coronavirus, Noor Hisham said…

…Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad had earlier announced three confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in three Chinese nationals, the first reported in Malaysia.

The three were related to a 66-year-old man confirmed by Singapore to have tested positive for the virus.

The infected individuals were a 65-year-old woman, who is the wife of the man with the virus in Singapore, and their two grandsons, aged 11 and 2, Dzulkefly said…

January 24, 2020: People’s Daily, China, the largest newspaper in China, tweeted: “A total of 450 professional #PLA medical staff from Shanghai, Chongqing, and Xi’an arrived at #Wuhan at 23:44 on Friday to deal with the #pneumonia caused by the novel #coronavirus.”

January 24, 2020: Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan’s Abe Orders Prompt Update on New Coronavirus”. From the article:

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed cabinet members Friday to provide the public promptly with accurate information about pneumonia linked to a coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Abe also instructed them to provide support to Japanese nationals abroad through local embassies.

“I want the public to take usual preventative measures against colds and stay calm without becoming overly concerned about the outbreak,” he told a meeting of relevant ministers.

Japan has confirmed its second case of the new strain of coronavirus, while in China, more than 800 cases have been reported with the death toll far exceeding 20.

Abe called on the ministers to continue making the utmost efforts to prevent the spread of the virus in Japan and ensure the safety of Japanese citizens abroad.

January 24, 2020:UK Department of Health and Social Care posted a press release titled: “CMO for England statement on the Wuhan novel coronavirus”. It is a statement from the Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, on Wuhan novel coronaviurs. From the press release:

COBR met today to discuss the situation in Wuhan, China, and elsewhere in Asia. I updated on the current situation, the preparedness of the NHS, and possible next steps.

I am working closely with the other UK Chief Medical Officers. We all agree that the risk to the UK public remains low, but there may well be cases in the UK at some stage. We have tried and tested measures in place to respond. The UK is well prepared for these types of incidents, with excellent readiness against infectious diseases…

…There are no confirmed cases in the UK to date. We have been carefully monitoring the situation in Wuhan, China , since the beginning of the outbreak and are now implementing our planned response.

A public health hub will be set up in Healthrow from today. This consists of clinicians and other public health officials, in addition to existing port health measures.

The World Health Organization has rightly responded quickly and China has introduced strong public health measures.

January 24, 2020:Reuters reported that Shanghai had shut down all cinemas during the Lunar New Year holidays, which last until January 30. The virus outbreak in China prompted seven Chinese films that were set to premiere during the country’s Lunar New Year holiday to postpone screenings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed the second infection with 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the United States has been detected in Illinois. The patient recently returned from Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by this novel coronavirus has been ongoing since December 2019.

The patient returned to the U.S. from Wuhan on January 13, 2020, and called a health care provider after experiencing symptoms a few days later. The patient was admitted to a hospital, where infection control measures were taken to reduce the risk of transmission to other individuals. The patient remains hospitalized in an isolation room in stable condition and is doing well.

Based on the patient’s travel history and symptoms, health care professionals suspected 2019-nCoV. A clinical specimen was collected and sent to CDC, where laboratory testing confirmed the infection. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) are investigating locations where this patient went after returning to Illinois and are identifying any close contacts who were possibly exposed. The patient has limited close contacts, all of whom are currently well and who will be monitored for symptoms. Since returning from China, the patient has had very limited movement outside the home.

CDC is taking aggressive public health measures to help protect the health of Americans. While CDC considers this a serious public health threat, based on current information, the immediate health risk from 2019-nCoV to the general American public is considered low at this time. CDC is working closely with the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Chicago Department of Public Health, and other local partners. A CDC team has been deployed to support the ongoing investigation…

…It is likely there will be more cases reported in the U.S. in the coming days and weeks. CDC will continue to update the public as circumstances warrant. While the immediate risk of this new virus to the American public is believed to be low at this time, there are simple daily precautions that everyone should always take. It is currently flu and respiratory disease season, and CDC recommends getting vaccinated, taking everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs, and taking flu antivirals if prescribed. Right now, CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential travel to Wuhan, China. In addition, CDC recommends people traveling to China practice certain health precautions like avoiding contact with people who are sick and practicing good hand hygiene.

January 24, 2020: CDC Travel Health tweeted: “Update: CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential travel to #Hubei Provence, #China, including #Wuhan.” The tweet included a link to CDC information about this recommendation. It also included a graphic of a map of the world with “Travel Notice Warning (Level 3): Avoid Nonessential Travel” on it.

January 24, 2020:CNN Business posted an article titled: “McDonald’s closes restaurants in five Chinese cities because of the coronavirus”. It was written by Danielle Wiener-Bronner. From the article:

McDonald’s closed restaurants in five Chinese cities and is implementing new health protocals in the region as the deadly coronavirus continues to spread.

On Friday, the company shuttered locations in Wuhan, Ezhou, Huanggang, Quianjaing and Xiantao – all cities that have been impacted by the Chinese government’s travel restrictions, company spokesperson Barry Sum told CNN Business in an email. At least 10 cities in central Hubei provence are facing travel restrictions, including Wuhan, where this strain of coronavirus originated.

“McDonald’s restaurant operation in Hubei province runs normally in cities where public transportation is available,” Sum said. “Staff and customers’ safety is our first priority and we have comprehensive, precautious measures being implemented to all restaurant operations and office staff.” It’s not clear when the affected restaurants will reopen…

January 24, 2020:The Guardian reported: China said on Saturday that the death toll has risen to 41, with 1,287 affected.

The move means Japanese citizens are advised to avoid any travel to the province hit hard by a pneumonia outbreak caused by a new strain of coronavirus.

The epicenter of the outbreak is Wuhan, the capital of the province.

January 24: The Guardian posted an article titled: “Coronavirus: death toll reaches 41 in China with first cases in Europe”. It was written by Rebecca Ratcliffe and Denis Campbell. From the article:

China has expanded an unprecedented lockdown during the country’s most important holiday to 13 cities and at least 36 million people, as efforts to contain the deadly new coronavirus were stepped up around the world and the first cases were reported in Europe.

Restrictions on movement were widened on Friday in China in an effort to stop the spread of the disease. Late on Friday, authorities confirmed a further 15 deaths and 180 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 41 people and more than 1,000 affected…

…Chinese officials shut down part of the Great Wall and suspended public transport in the affected cities, stranding millions of people at the start of the lunar new year holiday amid growing anger about the government’s handling of the crisis. Beijing’s famous temple fairs, a tradition during lunar new year celebrations, will not go ahead, while Shanghai Disneyland announced it would also close indefinitely. McDonalds’s announced it has also suspended its business in five affected cities..

January 24, 2020: World Health Organization Philippines tweeted: “Based on the results that came out today from the confirmatory testing done in Australia of the 5-year-old in Cebu, he is negative from the 2019 novel #coronavirus.” This tweet was the start of a thread.

January 24, 2020: World Health Organization Philippines tweeted: “This means that the Philippines continues to have no confirmed case of 2019 novel #coronavirus. However, it is likely that we will see more cases in China and in other countries in coming days and weeks.”

January 24, 2020: World Health Organization Philippines tweeted: “The Philippine Department of Health, Bureau of Quarantine and airport authorities are continuing active case findings for possible cases of 2019 novel #coronavirus in the country.” This was the last tweet in the thread.

January 24, 2020:The Guardian posted an article titled: “French cases show coronavirus has reached Europe”. From the article:

France has identified three cases of the deadly new coronavirus from China, the first cases in Europe.

Two of the cases were announced by the health minister, Agnès Buzyn, on Friday evening. She said that both of those affected had traveled to China.

The third case was announced a few hours after the press conference. Two of the three infected people belong to the same family, authorities said.

The minister said she believes that one reason why France is the first European country to have confirmed cases is that it has developed a test allowing medics to rapidly diagnose those affected. “You have to treat an epidemic as you would a fire, that’s to say find the source very quickly,” she said. “We identified the first positive cases very quickly.”

One of the patients, a 48-year-old man, passed through Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak, before travelling to France on Wednesday, the minister said. He is in the south-western city of Bordeaux…

…She said he is a French national who traveled to China for work and lives in the Bordeaux area. He was in contact with about 10 people before he was taken into care, the minister said. French authorities are seeking to contact them…

…The other person referred to by Buzyn is in hospital in Paris. The minister said they also travelled to China but she had little information about that case, which was confirmed shortly before she spoke at the news conference…

January 24, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan Govt, Firms Concerned about Supply Chain Damage from New Virus”. From the article:

In the wake of the spread of pneumonia caused by a new strain of coronavirus after an outbreak in Wuhan, China, the Japanese government and companies operating in the city are strengthening their vigilance.

A prolonged outbreak is likely to deal a blow to the supply chains of Japanese firms such as automakers and electronic equipment makers.

January 24, 2020: Minister for Health & Ambulance Services, Victoria, Australia, Jenny Mikakos MP tweeted: “We have confirmed a case of the 2019 novel coronavirus in Victoria – the first in Australia. There is no need for the community to be alarmed, our health system is well prepared to manage infectious diseases.”

Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed the first Australian case of the 2019 novel coronavirus.

The man is in his 50s, a visitor from China, is in a stable condition with the respiratory illness. He was confirmed as positive at 2:15am today following a series of tests.

The patient is being treated in an isolation room at Monash Medical Centre Clayton in accordance with recommended infection control procedure.

He had been to the city of Wuhan, China in the two weeks prior to the onset of his illness…

January 24, 2020: AFP News Agency correspondent Xinqi Su tweeted: “First recorded death of doctor in mainland China due to #nCoV2019 came on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Liang Wudong, and E.N.T. dept doctor of Hubei Xinhua Hospital, passed away one week after he was admitted to Jinyintan Hospital, his colleague said.”

January 24, 2020: AFP News Agency correspondant Xinqi Su also tweeted: “Another doctor lost in the fight against #nCoV2019- Jiang Jijun, a 51yo veteran infectious disease doctor, died of a sudden heart arrest on his way to the fever clinic on Jan. 23. His colleague said he was exhausted by a two to three-fold surge in service demand due to the epidemic.”

In China’s Haikou city, the capitol of the southern island province of Hainan, will start a 14-day centralized medical observation for tourists from the central Hubei province, the local government in Haikou has announced.

Tourists from Hubei, especially from Wuhan city, are not allowed to leave the hotel where the medical observation will be held during the 14-day period, it said.

Hubei has confirmed 729 cases of the new coronavirus, with 39 deaths as of January, the provincial health authorities said.

January 24, 2020: Australian Foreign Minister & Minister for Women Marise Payne tweeted: “We have raised our travel advice for Wuhan and Hubei province to level 4 – “Do not travel.” Chinese authorities have restricted travel in at least 5 Hubei cities. Australians going there may not be able to leave until restrictions are lifted.”

At level 4, your health and safety is at extreme risk. This may be because of a high threat of terrorist attack, conflict, violent social unrest, widespread infectious disease, or critical levels of violent crime. It could be a combination of risks.

If you travel to this location you’re at a high risk of death, imprisonment, kidnapping, or serious injury.

If you get into trouble, the Australian Government may be unable to help. In most cases, our ability to provide consular assistance in these destinations is extremely limited.

Any travel by Australian officials to ‘Do Not Travel’ locations is subject to high-level approval. It includes rigorous risk assessment and movement planning usually involving the use of armoured vehicles.

You should not travel to this location. If you are already in a ‘do not travel’ area, you should consider leaving. If, despite our advice, you decide to travel to a location with a travel advice level of 4, it’s your responsibility to follow all the advice for levels 1, 2, and 3, as well as the following…

January 24, 2020:New York State Health website posted news titled: “Governor Cuomo Outlines State Response to First Two Confirmed Cases of Novel Coronavirus in United States”. From the news:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a series of actions to raise awareness and prepare New York State in response to an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced two confirmed cases in the United States – one in Washington State and one in Chicago. The State Department of Health currently has four persons under investigation for novel coronavirus that are under isolation as their cases are being tested at the CDC. So far, one of these cases has been proven negative and three are still pending. While the risk for New York is currently low, the Governor is calling for increased vigilance to ensure New Yorkers are protected…

…Last week the Department of Health issued guidance to healthcare providers, healthcare facilities, clinical laboratories and local health departments to provide updated information about the outbreak, and ensure the proper protocols are in place if a patient is experiencing symptoms consistent with the novel coronavirus, had a travel history to Wuhan, China, or had come in contact with an individual who was under investigation for this novel coronavirus.

Additionally, the Department has hosted a series of informational webinars for hospitals and local healthcare providers. Today the Department hosted a webinar for medical professionals at colleges and universities – many of which host international students – to disseminate information about the virus, infection control recommendations and the current criteria for testing.

Last week’s guidance coincided with the start of a CDC-led airport entry screening program at John F. Kennedy International Airport for passengers arriving from Wuhan, China. Chinese officials have since closed transport in and out of Wuhan and other cities in the province, including the international airports. DOH, Port Authority and the New York City Health Department will continue to work collaboratively with CDC as their travel screening process evolves. To date, no passenger has required further evaluation as a result of the CDC-led passenger program at JFK. To raise further awareness for all international travel, Governor Cuomo has directed the Port Authority to post informational signs at all four Port Authority international airports…

January 25, 2020: CGTN, China Global Television Network tweeted: “#UPDATE Xinhua Hospital says 62-years-old ENT specialist, Dr. Liang Wudong, who is suspected to have died from the coronavirus Saturday retired in March 2019.”

January 25, 2020: The CDC reported the onset of 3 additional COVID-19 cases in the United States.

A total of 1,965 suspected cases have been reported from 20 Chinese provinces, regions and cities (excluding Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taipei).

Of these 23 confirmed cases, 21 had travel history to Wuhan City, China; one case in Australia had direct contact with a confirmed case from Wuhan while in China; and one confirmed case in Viet Nam had no travel history to any part of China as mentioned in the situation report published on 24 January. According to preliminary investigations, this constitutes an instance of human-to-human transmission within a family.

January 25, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “3rd Case of Wuhan-Linked Pneumonia Found in Japan”. From the article:

Japan’s health ministry said Saturday that it has confirmed the country’s third case of pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China.

The patient, now in Tokyo, is a woman in her 30s from the Chinese city, the epicenter of the virus, the ministry said.

January 25, 2020: People’s Daily, China, the largest newspaper in China, tweeted: “Doctor Liang Wudong at the ENT department of Hubei Xinhua Hospital who had been at the front line fighting against #nCoV2019 in Wuhan, died from teh virus on Sat at the age of 62. #RIP”. The tweet included a large, black and white, photo of Doctor Liang Wudong.

January 25, 2020:The Times of India reported 12 people who returned to India from China and Hong Kong had been quarantined (as a precautionary measure) in hospitals in India. Three, including a Briton, in Mumbai, and nine in Kerla’s Ernakulam and Thrissur – as China locked down 10 cities and closed part of the Great Wall to control the coronavirus outbreak.

January 25, 2020:The Japan Times posted an article titled: “Japan confirms third case of new coronavirus infection”. From the article:

The health ministry said Saturday that it has confirmed a third case of a new deadly virus that has been rapidly spreading in China and beyond.

The patient is a woman from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak of the mysterious coronavirus began, the ministry said, adding she arrived in Japan in Jan. 18.

The ministry has not disclosed her nationality or which airport or port she used when she entered the country.

The woman in her 30s, who is in stable condition, is said to have had no symptoms at the time of arrival but developed a fever and started coughing on Tuesday night, according to the ministry.

She visited a Tokyo hospital on Thursday and later tested positive for the virus, which has killed at least 41 people in China…

…She came to Japan as part of a family of four. However, so far the other three have not developed any symptoms, the official said…

January 25, 2020: CNN Philippines also tweeted: “Lam also says schools in the city will be suspended until February 17. This is amid rising fears of the virus’s spread.”

January 25, 2020: People’s Daily, China, the largest newspaper in China tweeted: “#HongKong to suspend high-speed rail and flights connecting the city with Wuhan indefinitely, HK chief executive Carrie Lam said Sat, vowing to step up quarantine efforts to curb the spread of #nCoV2019.”

January 25, 2020:Masslive.com posted an article titled: “Wuhan bans cars, Hong Kong closes schools as coronavirus spreads”. The source is the Associated Press. From the article:

The virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, already on lockdown, banned most vehicle use downtown and Hong Kong said it would close schools for two weeks as authorities scrambled Saturday to stop the spread of an illness that has infected more than 1,200 people and killed 41.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said her government will raise its response level to emergency, the highest one, and close primary and secondary schools for two more weeks on top of next week’s Lunar New Year holiday. They will re-open Feb. 17.

Lam said that direct flights and trains from Wuhan would be blocked. The outbreak began in the city in central China and has spread nationwide and overseas, fueled by millions of people traveling during the country’s biggest holiday.

In a sign of the growing strain on Wuhan’s health care system, the official Xinhua news agency reported that the city planned to build a second makeshift hospital with about 1,000 beds. The city previously announced that construction of a hospital of the same size is underway and expected to be completed Feb. 3…

…China cut off trains, planes and other links to Wuhan on Wednesday, as well as public transportation within the city, and has steadily expanded a lockdown to 16 surrounding cities with a combined population of more than 50 million, greater than that of New York, London, Paris and Moscow combined.

The cities of Yichang, Suizhou and Jingzhour were the latest added to the list on Friday evening and Saturday…

January 25, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “The total number of confirmed cases of 2019 novel #coronavirus reported from mainland China is 1,975. This includes 237 severe cases and 56 people who have died. #nCoV2019 #nCoV”. This was the first tweet in a thread.

(This tweet was corrected by another tweet that followed the thread: “Correction: The total number of confirmed cases of the 2019 novel #coronavirus reported from mainland China to date is 1,975. This includes 324 severe cases and 56 pople who have died. #nCoV2019#nCoV”)

January 25 2020: World Health Organization Pacific continued its thread with another tweet: “Hong Kong SAR has reported a total of 5 cases of #nCoV2019, Macao SAR has reported 2 cases, and Taiwan, China has reported 3 cases.”

January 25, 2020: World Health Organization Pacific continued its thread with another tweet: “Among other countries in the @WHO Western Pacific Region, #Australia, #Malaysia & #Singapore have each reported 4 cases of the 2019 novel #coronavirus. #Japan has reported 3 cases. The Republic of #Korea and #Vietnam have each reported two cases.

January 25, 2020: Australian Ministers Department of Health posted a media release titled: “First confirmed case of novel coronavirus in Australia”. It was written by The Honorable Greg Hunt, MP, Minister for Health. From the media release:

The first case of novel cornavirus (2019-nCoV) has been confirmed by Victoria Health Authorities this morning.

The Commonwealth Department of Health is in close contact with Victorian health authorities and has notified the World Health Organization.

The patient, a man from Wuhan, flew to Melbourne from Guandong on 19 January.

Minister for Health Greg Hunt said, “Australia has world-class health systems with processes for the identification and treatment of cases, including isolation facilities in each state and territory, these processes have been activated.”

“Our laboratories have developed testing processes for this novel coronavirus that can provide a level of certainty within a day.”

“Victoria has followed its strict protocols, including isolating the affected person. I understand the patient has pneumonia and is in a stable condition.”

The virus originated in mainland China – the overwhelming majority of cases are there – and the only clear evidence of human-to-human transmission is in the Wuhan region.

Minister Hunt said, “Victorian and Commonwealth authorites will be undertaking “contact tracing” for passengers who travelled on this flight and to provide them with information and advice.”

Australia will continue to monitor the situation closely and continue to act on the best available evidence and advice:

Overnight, DFAT raised the level of travel advice for Wuhan and
Hubei Province in China to ‘level 4 – do not travel’ and has issued a
Smartraveller bulletin on the virus outbreak. The advice level for China
as a whole has not changed.

Border measures are already in place to detect travellers who are unwell coming into the country.

Whilst, the Chinese authorities have now stopped all traffic from
Hubei province as an added precaution, the Government is ensuring that
all passengers on flights from other parts of China will be met and
provided information on arrival.

Information is also on display at all major international ports
around Australia, with instructions on what to do if travellers have
symptoms or if symptoms develop.

Human coronavirus with pandemic potential’ is now a Listed Human
Disease under the Biosecurity Act 2015, enabling the use of enhanced
border measures.

The Department of Health has provided primary and community health
care workers and Emergency Departments in Australia with updated advice.

The Chief Medical Officer convened a national teleconference of the
Australian Health Protection Principle Committee (AHPPC) this morning to
inform State and Territory Authorities and to coordinate further
national action.

Professor Murphy said it was important people who had recently arrived in Australia from Wuhan, and those in close contact with them, watch for signs of the coronavirus.

“We don’t know exactly how long symptoms take to show after a person has been infected, but there is an incubation period and some patients will have very mild symptoms,” Professor Murphy said.

“People who arrive in Australia from an international flight with these symptoms should alert their airline, or a biosecurity officer if they have disembarked.”

If people start getting symptoms in the next week after arriving in Australia, they should see a doctor or go to hospital if they are very ill. If they have travelled to Wuhan, they should call ahead to ensure others aren’t put at risk…

January 25, 2020: Australian Government Department of Health posted news titled: “Chief Medical Officer’s update on novel coronavirus”. It is a transcript of Professor Brendan Murphy’s press conference about novel coronavirus. From the transcript:

[Confirms the first case of novel coronavirus has been identified in Australia]… from Wuhan travelled to Melbourne last Sunday on a flight on the 19th. On flight CZ321from Guangzhou and he was well when he arrived but developed an illness during last week and is currently in stable condition under isolation in a hospital in Melbourne. As we indicated earlier in this week, given the number of cases that have been found outside of China and the significant traffic from Wuhan city in the past to Australia, it was not unexpected that we would get some cases.

So this is the first confirmed cases. There are other cases being tested each day. Many of them are negative but I wouldn’t be surprised if we had further confirmed cases. As I’ve said previously however Australia is very well prepared. We have excellent State and Territory health systems. All of whom have protocols to isolate and rapidly diagnose conditions such as this. And this is evidenced by what happened with this gentleman in Melbourne, who is now under isolation and being managed. This morning I convened an emergency meeting of the Australian Health Protection Principle Committee to discuss this first positive case and we discussed the protocol for contact tracing of passengers adjacent to him in the train, in the plane sorry, and providing information to other passengers on that plane.

As I’ve previously advised, we have a lower risk now of people coming from Wuhan because the Chinese government have now stopped all transport out of Wuhan. However, there may be some people who have been in Wuhan, who got out before the travel ban was instituted by China and they may make their way to Australia from other ports in China.

So for the time being as of this afternoon we’ll be meeting all flights from China – and there are a very large number of flights to Australia each week from China – and providing information to all passengers in English and Mandarin, encourage them if they’ve been from that Hubei province of China, particularly the city of Wuhan. And if they get any illness when they’re here to seek medical attention and identify themselves as having come from that region of China. We are intending- Minister Hunt is proposing to convene a meeting of health ministers this afternoon just to make sure that all health ministers are well apprised of the situation. And the Australian Government Crisis Committee will also be meeting just to make sure that everybody is fully prepared and fully understands the implications of having one or more positive cases in Australia…

January 25, 2020:New South Wales Health posted Novel Coronavirus statistics (as of 11AM that day). Number of confirmed cases: 0. Number of cases under investigation: 5.

January 25, 2020:New South Wales Health posted another Novel Coronavirus statistics (as of 5PM that day). Number of cases confirmed: 0. Number of cases under investigation: 7.

The fact that these cases were identified, proved that detection and confirmation of this novel virus is working in France. showing a high level of preparedness to prevent and control possible infections of 2019-nCoV.

Most EU countries have plans and measures in place to contain this kind of infections and Europe has well-equipped laboratories that can confirm probable cases in addition to hospitals that are prepared to treat patients accordingly. EU/EEA countries should ensure that timely and rigorous infection prevention and control measures (IPC) are applied around people diagnosed with 2019-nCoV, Such measures will keep the likelihood of further sustained spread in both healthcare and community settings low.

In the past, systematic implementation of infection prevention and control measures were effective in controlling both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV.

ECDC is working with the EU/EEA Member States to ensure that they are prepared to manage any imported cases. ECDC is monitoring this event through epidemic intelligence activities, and provides risk assessments to guide EU Member States and the EU Commission in their response activities.

At this stage, it is likely that there will be more imported cases in Europe. Even if there are still many things unknown about 2019-nCoV, European countries have the necessary capacities to prevent and control an outbreak as soon as cases are detected…

January 25, 2020: China correspondent, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) tweeted: “The streets are empty in the small towns of Hubei Province where the #coronavirus outbreak started. #China”. The tweet included a short video, which appears to be taken from a vehicle driving through a street. There are no people in the video.

January 26, 2020: The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control posted an update titled: “Risk assessment: outbreak of acute respiratory syndrome associated with a novel coronavirus, China; First cases imported in the EU/EEA; second update” From the update:

On 31 December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown aetiology was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province China. On 9 January 2020, China CDC reported a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as the causative agent of this outbreak, which is phylogenetically in the SARS-Cov clade.

As of 26 January 2020, a total of 2,026 laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV cases have been reported, 1,988 in China and 38 imported cases from other countries around the world. Fifty six deaths have been reported among the cases. Chinese health authorities have confirmed human-to-human transmission outside Hubei province and 16 healthcare workers are reported to be infected.

Imported cases in Europe

On 23 January 2020, the first imported cases (3) of 2019-nCoV were identified in France.

The rapid increase in the number of reported cases can be partly attributed to the ongoing improved testing protocols and epidemiological investigations on the Chinese authorities; however, since the original source remains unknown and human-to-human transmission has been documented, further cases and deaths are expected. Further cases are also expected among travellers from Hubei Province. Therefore, health authorities in Member States should remain vigilant and strengthen their capacity to respond to such an event.

There are considerable uncertainties in assessing the risk of this event, due to lack of detailed epidemiological analyses…

January 26, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan Govt Urged to Prevent Spread of New Coronavirus”. From the article:

A Japanese ruling party official on Sunday called on the government to take “full-scale border control measures” to prevent the spread of pneumonia caued by a new strain of coronavirus while paying close attention to related information from the World Health Organization.

In a television program, Tomomi Inada, executive acting secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, also urged the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to ensure that the public are fully given necessary information on the new virus originating in the inland China city of Wuhan.

Noting that China’s government decided on Saturday to effectively ban oversees travel by Chinese nationals from Monday, Tetsuro Fukuyama, secretary-general of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said in the TV program that the move by Beijing is certain to have a considerable impact on Japan’s tourism industry and that the Japanese government should give consideration to the issue.

According to China’s government, nearly 2,000 people in the country have developed pneumonia caused by the new virus and the death toll has topped 50.

January 26, 2020:New South Wales Health another Novel Coronavirus statistic (as of 9AM that day.) Number of cases confirmed: 3. Number of cases under investigation 2.

January 26, 2020: Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Govt to Bring Japanese Nationals in Wuhan Back Home”. From the article:

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday that the government will bring back home Japanese nationals in Wuhan, the epicenter of a new type of coronavirus that has caused a number of people to develop pneumonia, and areas near the inland Chinese city.

“As soon as coordination with the Chinese government is made, we will help all Japanese nationals willing to return home to get back to Japan using all available measures, including chartered flights,” Abe told reporters at his official residence.

“We are making adjustments with the Chinese government at various levels,” he said, adding that the Japanese government will accelerate the preparations in order to have Japanese citizens in Wuhan and nearby areas return home as soon as possible.

Around 710 Japanese nationals are now believed to be in Wuhan, according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry. Traffic to and from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, has been shut off to prevent any further spread of the virus. Similar traffic shutdown has also been in place in some 10 other cities in the Chinese province..

January 26, 2020: New South Wales Health posted another Novel Coronaviris Statistics (as of 5PM that day). Number of cases confirmed: 3. Number of cases under investigation: 1 (see below):

Preliminary test results have shown the above case currently under investigation has tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus. Confirmation is expected tomorrow. Public health follow-up of this probable case is being undertaken in accordance with the national guidelines and the patient remains in isolation.

Of the five cases that were under investigation today, four have now been cleared of the infection…

January 26, 2020: Australian Government Department of Health posted a transcript titled: “Chief Medical Officer’s update on novel coronavirus”. It is a transcript of Professor Brendan Murphy’s press conference about novel coronavirus in Australia. From the transcript:

Well, thank you for coming this afternoon to get an update on the coronavirus situation. I can report there have been no new confirmed cases in Australia. The number of four cases; three in Sydney and one in Melbourne remains the same. The four patients, I believe, are all in stable condition in isolation in hospital. Information just released from China shows, as expected, the number of cases has increased to over 2000 and now 56 deaths.

Nearly all of those deaths are in the Hubei province, which includes the city of Wuhan. That province has been the focal point of this infection. But we do know that there have been more than 40 cases exported to other countries and there have been cases seen in other provinces of China.

As I have advised previously, since the Chinese have essentially locked down Hubei province and stopped people leaving, the risk of infected people who might be incubating the virus coming to Australia remains lower than it was before that time.

However, because people could have left the province before the lockdown and could come to Australia via a number of flights, we are now meeting every flight from China and providing the passengers with an information sheet, asking them to identify themselves if they’re unwell on the flight, but also to identify if they become unwell, particularly with fever or cough or other respiratory symptoms after they have been in Australia…

…So the risk to the Australian population is – there is no risk at the moment other htan people who have come from – with that travel history or have been in contact with people. So there is no cause for general concern, but we are very focused on identifyin anyone who may have come with this disease in recent weeks…

January 26, 2020: CDC tweeted: “CDC confirms 3 new cases of novel #coronavirus (#2019 infection in the U.S., 1 in AZ & 2 in CA, bringing total to 5. All US cases travelled from Wuhan, China. More cases may be identified. However, risk to US general public is considered low.”

Twenty-nine confirmed cases have been reported outside of China in ten countries. (see table-1) Of these 29 exported cases, 26 had a travel history from Wuhan City, China.

Among the three cases identified in countries outside of China: one case in Australia had direct contact with a confirmed case from Wuhan while in China; one case in Australia reported today, travel history is not yet known; One case in Viet Nam had no travel history but was in contact with a confirmed case (his father with travel history to Wuhan), resulting in human-to-human transmission within a family.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has been informed that one individual in Los Angeles County and one individual in Orange County have tested positive for novel coronavirus 2019 (nCoV-2019). This information is confirmed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH), the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…

…At this time, no other persons infected with nCoV-2019 have been identified in California. Currently, the immediate health risk from nCoV 2019 to the general public is low.

It is very important for persons who have recently traveled and who become ill to notify their health care provider of their travel history. Persons who have recently traveled to Wuhan, China, or who have had contact with a person with possible novel coronavirus infection should contact their local health department or health care provider…

…The nCoV-2019 outbreak in China continues to evolve and California is prepared for more cases that may arise. CDPH considers this a very important public health event: we are closely monitoring the situation and providing updates to partners across the state to support their preparedness efforts…

January 26, 2020:New York State Health website posted news titled: “Governor Cuomo Announces State’s Continued Response to Novel Coronavirus as Three More Individuals are Identified for Testing in New York State”. From the news:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced New York State’s latest efforts to prepare and respond to the outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China, after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now confirms three cases in the United States. While there have been no confirmed cases in New York State, as of today, the New York State Department of Health has sent seven total cases to CDC for testing. Three of those cases remain in isolation as their cases are tested at CDC.

“While the experts still believe the risk of catching this novel coronavirus is currently low in New York, I want all New Yorkers to know we are prepared and continue to take all necessary steps to keep people informed and safe to keep people informed and safe,” Governor Cuomo said. “I have directed the Department of Health and other state agencies to continue working closely with the CDC, the World Health Organization, our local and federal government partners, and New York’s healthcare providers to ensure we stay ahead of this situation.”

With travelers expected to begin returning to the US this week from Lunar New Year celebrations in China, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) has begun working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to post multilingual sinage about the virus at all four Port Authority International airports. DOH is also working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to place informational signage on subways and busses…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed additional travel-related infections of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the United States, this time in Arizona and California. These patients recently returned to the U.S. from Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus has been ongoing since December 2019. This brings the total number of 2019n-CoV infections detected in the United States to five.

Based on the patient’s travel history and symptoms, healthcare professionals suspected 2019-nCoV. Clinical specimens were collected and sent to CDC, where laboratory testing confirmed infection with 2019-nCoV. Investigations are underway to determine where these patients went after returning to the United States and any close contacts who were possibly exposed. CDC teams have been deployed to support these efforts.

This is a rapidly evolving situation, and we are still in the early days of the investigation – both domestically and abroad. CDC continues to monitor the international situation with our teams on the ground in affected countries, to monitor the international situation with our teams on the ground in affected countries, as well as domestically in the four states with confirmed cases – Arizona, California, Illinois, and Washington. CDC is leaning forward with an aggressive public health response strategy and working closely with state and local public health authorities to identify potential cases early and make sure patients get the best and most appropriate care.

It is likely there will be more cases reported in the U.S. in the coming days and weeks, likely including person-to-person spread. In previous outbreaks with MERS and SARS, the two other coronaviruses that have jumped the species barrier to cause severe illness in people, person-to-person spread has been seen, including among healthcare workers caring for patients ill with coronavirus infection. This underscores the importance of appropriate precautions in the health care setting as well in homes of people who are infected with 2019-nCoV but who may not be hospitalized. CDC has developed guidance for both situations.

This is a very serious public health situation. We understand that some people are worried about this virus and how it may impact Americans. Outbreaks of new disease are always of concern- and in today’s connected world, an outbreak anywhere can be a risk everywhere. Risk is dependent on exposure. Someone who is in close contact with a person who is infected with 2019-nCoV will be at greater risk of infection and should take the precautions outlined in CDC’s guidance for preventing spread in homes and communities. While this is a serious public health threat, CDC continues to believe the immediate risk to the U.S. general public is low at this time.

Right now, CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential travel to the Hubei Province, China. In addition, CDC recommends people traveling to other parts of China practice certain health precautions like avoiding contact with people who are sick and practicing good hand hygiene. For the general public, no additional precautions are recommended at this time beyond the simple daily precautions that everyone should always take. It is currently flu and respiratory disease season, and flu activity is still high and expected to continue for a number of weeks. CDC recommends getting a flue vaccine, taking everyday preventative actions to stop the spread of germs, and taking flu antivirals if prescribed…

January 27, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan to Designate New Pneumonia as Specified Disease”. From the article:

Japan will designate pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus that is spreading mainly in China as a specified infectious disease, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday.

The government plans to make the move at a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Abe told the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament.

The designation under the infectious disease law will allow authorities to conduct compulsory hospitalization of infected patients and stop them from attending work.

January 27, 2020:UK Department of Health and Social Care posted a statement titled: “Wuhan coronavirus: Health Secretary’s statement to Parliament”. It is a statement from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock. From the statement:

…The Chief Medical Officer continues to advise that the risk to the UK population is “low” and has concluded that while there is an increased risk of likelihood that cases may arise in this country, we are well prepared and well equipped to deal with them.

As of 2pm, there are currently no confirmed cases in the UK. We are working night and day with the World Health Organization and the international community and are monitoring the situation closely. Our approach has been guided by the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty.

As I set out in my statement on Thursday, coronavirus presents with flu-like symptoms including a fever, a cough, or difficulty breathing. The current evidence is that most cases appear to be mild.

However, this is a new disease and the global scientific community is still learning about it. I have therefore directed Public Health England to take a belt and braces approach, including tracing people who have been to Wuhan in the past 14 days.

Coronaviruses do not usually spread if people don’t have symptoms – however we cannot be 100 per cent certain.

From today, we are therefore asking anyone in the UK who has returned from Wuhan in the last 14 days to self-isolate. Stay indoors and avoid contact with other people – and to contact NHS 111. If you are in Northern Ireland, you should phone your GP…

…Public Health England officials are continuing to trace people who have arrived in the UK from Wuhan. Having eliminated those who we know have since left the country, there are 1,460 people we are seeking to locate.

The Foreign Office is rapidly advancing measures to bring UK nationals back from Hubei Provence…

…The UK is one of the first countries in the world to have developed an accurate test for this coronavirus and PHE is undertaking continuous refinement of this test. PHE has this morning confirmed to me that it can scale up this test so we are in a position to deal with cases in this country if necessary…

January 27, 2020: Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Honda, Aeon to Bring Home Japanese Workers from Wuhan”. From the article:

Honda Motor Co. <7267> and Aeon Co. <8267> will bring home Japanese workers from Wuhan, China, due to the spread of pneumonia caused by a new strain of coronavirus, officials at the two Japanese companies said Monday.

The companies will use flights chartered by the Japanese government for the evacuation from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, the officials said.

A chartered flight will leave for Wuhan as early as Tuesday, Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters. The new virus is believed to have originated in the inland Chinese city.

Honda has an auto assembly plant in Wuhan. Japanese workers and theri family members, totaling some 30, will be brought back home, company officials said. A few Japanese workers who oversee the plant will stay there, they said.

Aeon, which runs five supermarket stores in Wuhan, will allow workers who hope to go back to Japan to do so, company officials said.

January 27, 2020: New South Wales Health posted another Novel Coronavirus Statistics. Number of cases confirmed: 4. Number of cases under investigation: 5.

January 27, 2020: CDC Travel Health tweeted: “CDC recommends travelers avoid all nonessential travel to #China due to the ongoing #2019nCoV (#coronavirus) outbreak. The outbreak is growing and there is limited access to adequate medical care in affected areas”.

For context, Trump was using one of his catchphrases in an effort to provide misinformation about his impeachement. Specifically, he wants people to read what he refers to as a “transcript” of a call between himself and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In that call, the House of Representatives concluded, as part of an investigation, that Trump withdrew Congress approved funding for Ukraine until and unless President Zelenskyy publicly announced that Ukraine was investigation former Vice President Joe Biden because Biden’s son, in the past, had worked for a large Ukraine business.

The “transcript” is not a transcript – it is a memo written by Trump’s Attorney General. A transcript does not exist, because the U.S. Government stopped recording calls after former President Nixon was impeached for his tape recordings of converastions.

Also, for context, President Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. January 27, 2020, was the start of the Senate hearing that was being publicly broadcast.

In short, Trump is more focused on himself than on the coronavirus (that he had been warned about.)

January 27, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific posted a thread that started with this tweet: “The total number of confirmed cases of the 2019 novel #coronavirus reported from mainland China to date is 4,515. This includes 976 severe cases and 106 people who have died. #nCov #nCoV2019 #2019nCoV”.

This tweet is not the end of the thread. I am leaving out the last tweet in the thread, which provides information about good hygiene practices.

January 27, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “GMO Employees to Work from Home amid Coronavirus Concern”. From the article:

GMO Internet Inc. <9449> said Monday it has told about 4,000 employees, about 90 pct of its workforce in Japan, to work from home amid concerns over a new coronavirus.

The measure will last for about two weeks starting Monday, the Japanese internet service provider said.

Subject to the measure are employees working in offices in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, the western city if Osaka and the southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka.

The company said it has told workers in Beijing, Shanghai, and other places in China, including those on business trips, to return to Japan.

The moves are to “secure employee’s safety and continue providing stable services,” a GMO Internet official said.

January 27, 2020: Ohio Department of Health tweeted: “Ohio currently has zero cases of #Coronavirus. We are continuing to monitor the situation closely with @CDCgov.”

January 27, 2020:New York State website posted news titled: “Governor Cuomo Issues Update on Novel Coronavirus as Two More New Yorkers Identified for Testing Bringing Total to Nine”. From the news:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced an update on the status of testing for the Novel Coronavirus in New York State, after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed five cases in the United States.

“While there have been no confirmed cases in New York State, as of today, our Department of Health has sent samples for nine individuals to CDC for testing: four of these samples have proven negative and five results are still pending,” Governor Cuomo said. “These five individuals remain in isolation as their samples are tested at CDC. While the risk for New Yorkers is currently low, we are still working to keep everyone informed, prepared, and safe.”…

January 27, 2020:Australian Government Department of Health posted a transcript titled: “Chief Medical Officer’s update on novel coronavirus”. It is a transcript of Professor Brendan Murphy’s doorstop about novel coronavirus”. From the transcript:

…Four elsewhere in China. The average age of the deaths, the median age I should say is 71 and a half years, which suggests that they’re in an elderly population in the main. Although there have been some young people in that group. There are 54 exported cases now in a range of countries, generally in small numbers. In Australia, there are now five confirmed cases: four in New South Wales, in Sydney, currently at Westmead Hospital and one in Melbourne in Monash Medical Centre. I’m advised that all five remain stable. There are a number of other Australians who have been tested and have been negative.

I’ve been regularly updating the Prime Minister, the Minister for Health, and Government on the developments. I think one thing we are noticing is that in China, whilst more than half the cases are still in the Hubei province, we are seeing increasing numbers across the other provinces in China. We still don’t know whether those increasing numbers are due to people who’ve come from the Hubei province, left that province before it was locked down and developed symptoms. There is still no evidence yet of sustained human to human transmission outside of the Hubei province. In Australia, our focus, as I’ve said on many occasions, is the early detection of anyone who may have come from China, particularly the Hubei province, within the last two weeks; the incubation period being up to 14 days. And our message remains the same: if you develop flu-like symptoms, fever, cough, contact either your GP or your local emergency department, tell them before you come that you’ve had a relevant travel history to China and attend to be tested. The majority of people that have been tested turn out to be negative.

We have increased some of the border measures today. As we’ve previously advised, every flight from China now is being met by border security officers who are going on the plane and distributing information to every passenger trying to identify any unwell passengers. The airlines are also required to identify any unwell passengers and if they are unwell, there’s a process of screening them. Every passenger on those flights from China is given an information sheet in Chinese and Mandarin, sorry, Mandarin and English and told to undertake, to watch themselves, and to contact their doctor or their emergency department should they develop symptoms over the following 14 days. In addition, because there are some people who could come from China via other countries, and other ports within 14 days, we are now making announcements in the arrivals halls of airports, again in English and Mandarin, pointing out that anyone who may have come from China from whatever flight or whatever port they’re on, pointing out the risks and identifying that there is printed material available for them to collect at the airport if they have come from China so that all of the people who may have come from China can get that information.

Again, we have no evidence there’s a risk to the Australian public. There’s no human to human transmission that’s been identified in this country. I convened this afternoon the Australian Health Protection Principle Committee and we have been looking at the data, and as I said, the concern, I think, is the number of cases outside of the Hubei province in China, and that’s why we are starting to look at people who have come from parts of China other than Hubei as potentially at risk. Although, our focus still remains on that Hubei province of China, which is the epicentre and which is the only place where human to human transmission has been identified…

January 27, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan Firms to Bring Home Workers from Coronavirus-Hit Wuhan”.

Many Japanese companies have decided to call back expatriate workers from the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of a pneumonia outbreak, as the Japanese government plans to charter evacuation flights.

Companies will bring home Japanese workers and their families from the inland China city, currently under lockdown to prevent the spread of a new strain of coronavirus believed to be behind the disease.

Honda Motor Co. <7267> will evacuate some 30 people on Japanese government-chartered planes. The automaker’s plant in Wuhan is closed until next Sunday for the Lunar New Year holiday. “We will make decisions on operations from Feb. 3 while monitoring the situation,” a company representative said.

Nissan Motor Co. <7201> will also bring home employees and their families.

Major chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron Ltd. <8035> will bring back some 30 people to Japan, while Nippon Steel Corp. <5401> and tire maker Bridgestone Corp. <5108> will evacuate four employee and one worker, respectively.

January 27, 2020:CDC posted a “Transcript of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV Update). It is a Press Briefing Transcript. From the transcript:

Much of the information in this press briefing was given by Nancy Messonnier, MD, the Director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). It is part of the CDC.

…To date we have 110 of what we’re calling persons under investigation or PUIs from 26 states. This is a cumulative number and will only increase. We still have only five confirmed cases overnight. This information will be posted on our website and updated on our website on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

I want to give a short update of the laboratory side of our work. Last week we mentioned CDC has developed a diagnostic test called a real-time reverse transcription prelininary chain reaction, that’s RRTPCR. It can diagnose this new coronavirus in respiratory serum samples from clinical specimens. Last Friday we publicly posted the protocal for this test. This is a blueprint to make the test…

…Additionally, CDC uploaded the entire genome from the virus from the first and now second cases reported in the United States. All the sequences we extracted are similar the one that China initially posted a couple of weeks ago. This means that right now and based on CDC’s analysis of the available data it doesn’t look like the virus has mutated. And we’re growing the virus in cell culture which is necessary for future studies, including the additional genetic characterization…

…16 international locations including the U.S. have identified cases of this new virus. I’m sure you’ve seen videos coming out of China in Wuhan, particularly. Our thoughts are with the people on the front lines of this emerging public health threat in China. Right now, we are continuing to screen a few passengers from Wuhan at the five designated airports. This enhanced entry screening serves two purposes. The first is to detect illness and reapidly respond to symptomatic people entering the country. The second purpose is critica to educate travelers about these symptoms of the virus and what to do if they develop symptoms. I expect our travel recommendations will change in the coming days…

…Right now we have a handful of patients with this new virus here in the United States. However, currently in the U.S., this virus is not spreading in the community. For that reason, we continue to believe that the immediate health risk from the new virus to the American public is low currently…

…Larry Irizarry asked: One quick follow up question, its 26 states. At some point will you release which states those are?

Dr. Messonnier responded: As you know, were are incredibly sensitive about releasing names of states in this kind of context. So that would really be up to a state health department whether they want to make that release. What I would say is if you want to know whether there are any PUIs in your state, please contact the state health department and let them make the decision about whether they want to relase that number or not…

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and colleagues are in Beijing to meet with government and health experts supporting the response. The mission’s aim is to understand the latest developments and strengthen the partnership with China, in particular for the response.

Current estimates of the incubation period of the virus range from 2-10 days, and these estimates will be refined as more data becomes available. Understanding the time when infected patients may transmit the virus to others is critical for control efforts. Detailed epidemiological information from more people is needed to determine the infectious period of 2019-nCoV, in particular, whether transmission can occur from asymptomatic individuals or during the incubation period…

…WHO is continually monitoring developments and on standby to reconvene the Emergency Committee on very short notice as needed. Committee members are regularly informed of developments.

Countries, territories or areas with reported confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV, 27 January 2020:

Five cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the U.S., and federal health officials are preparing diagnostic kits so states can perform their own testing.

Cases have been confirmed in Arizona, California, Illinois and Washington and all involved adults who traveled to Wuhan, China, the center of the outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…

…Thirty-two people have tested negative, and 73 potential cases are still under investigation..

…The global case count has reached 2,886, and there have been 81 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. While most of the cases are in China, cases have been confirmed in about a dozen other countries, including Thailand, Australia, the U.S., Japan, South Korea and France…

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced critical actions to advance development of novel coronavirus medical countermeasures.

As with any emerging public health threat, the FDA will collaborate with interagency partners, product developers, interational partners and global regulators to expidite the development and availability of medical products needed to diagnose, treat, mitigate and prevent such outbreaks…

…As part of FDA’s ongoing commitment to prepare and responde to infectious disease outbreaks, the agency is sharing updates on processes in place to help developers understand the pathways, including Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), that may be available to more rapidly advance and make medical countermeasures available for this virus, including diagnostic tests.

The FDA is also issuing key information for the public to help support the timely development of medical products to respond to the current outbreak. In order to support efficient medical product development for novel coronavirus medical countermeasures, today the FDA is launching a landing page that provide key information to the public, including product developers, on the FDA’s efforts in response to this outbreak…

…Being able to quickly and accurately diagnose patients infected with the novel coronavirus is an essential step in helping patients identify the need for care and mitigate the spread of the virus to additional individuals. Currently, there are no commercially available products that are authorized to detect novel coronavirus; however, the FDA is actively working to facilitate the development and availability to advance and share the reference materials necessary to facilitate diagnostic development…

January 28, 2020:Reuters posted an article titled: “Spain, Portugal work to repatriate nationals from coronavirus-hit Wuhan”. From the article:

The government Spain and Portugal are working with China and the European Union to repatriate their nationals from the Wuhan area struck by the coronavirus, the two countries’ foreign ministers said Monday…

…”We’re working… with our consulate in Beijing, and officials in China and the European Union to repatriate around 20 Spaniards in Wuhan, Hubei, the epicenter of the coronavirus. We will continue to update on any advances,” Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya wrote on Twitter.

She did not provide any futher details.

Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva told state broadcaster RTP that the ministry was exploring whether Portuguese citizens in Wuhan could return on a civilian plane with citizens from other European countries.

“Unlike other countries such as the United States or France, who have large numbers of citizens in Wuhan and carry out their own repatriation programmes, it makes more sense for country like Portugal, which has only a few citizens there, to carry out coordinated operations, if possible,” he said…

January 28, 2020: The CDC reported the onset of 3 additional COVID-19 case in the United States.

January 28, 2020: President Trump tweeted: “Really pathetic how @FOXNews is trying to be so politically correct by loading the airwaves with Democrats like Chris Van Hollen, the no name Senator from Maryland. He has been on forever playing up the Impeachment Hoax. Dems wouldn’t even give Fox their low ratings debates…

For context, in the tweet above, President Trump was angry that Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic Senator from Michigan, discussed that Trump had been impeached. Trump is also angry that this happened on Fox News, a channel that had previously acted as state media and praised Trump.

In the above tweet, Trump is also pointing out that the Democrats did not want to hold any of their primary debates on Fox News. He is using that observation as an attack on Fox News. There is another tweet in this thread, but it is irrelevant.

January 28, 2020: President Trump tweeted: “It’s amazing what I’ve done, the most of any President in the first three years (by far), considering that for three years I’ve been under phony political investigations and the impeachment HOAX! KEEP AMERICA GREAT!”

January 28, 2020: President Trump tweeted: “Thank you Wildwood New Jersey! #KeepAmericaGreat”. The tweet included a periscope video of the rally in New Jersey.

January 28, 2020:NPR reported that Starbucks closed more than 2,000 stores in mainland China in response to coronavirus. Starbucks said, “Currently, we have closed more than half of our stores in China and continue to modify the operating hours of all our stores in the market in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus.”

January 28, 2020: Several doctors from the World Health Organization (WHO) met with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing. The two sides agreed that WHO will send international experts to visit China as soon as possible to work with Chinese counterparts on increasing understanding of the coronavirus outbreak to guide global response efforts.

This meeting came after the number of people confirmed with the virus rose to over 4500 globally on 28 January, the greatest number being in China.

January 28, 2020:CNBC posted an article titled: “Facebook restricts employee travel to China as coronavorus spreads”. It was written by Annie Palmer. From the article:

Facebook has started restricting employee travel to China, joining a growing list of U.S. companies that have done the same amid a growing outbreak of the coronavirus.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have taken steps to protect the health and safety of our employees,” Facebook spokesperson Anthony Harrison told CNBC in a statement.

The travel restrictions were announced on Monday. Facebook has banned all non-essential travel the country, but if employees must visit China, they have to receive approval first. The company has also told employees who work in China, or who have recently traveled there, to work from home, Facebook said…

Based on current information, the infection in Germany followed a close contact with a visitor from China during a stay in Germany (diagnosed with 2019-nCoV after return to China) who had previously been visited by relatives from the Wuhan area. The German authorities are investing this case and taking the necessary steps to trace and inform any contracts.

At this stage of the on-going outbreak in the Hubei province in China, it is likely that there will be more imported cases in Europe. As a consequence, it could be expected to see (limited) local transmission in Europe. A single detected case in Europe does not change the overall picture for Europe, nor does it change the assessment that there is currently a moderate likelihood of importation of cases of 2019-nCoV to the EU/EEA. As more and more cases are reported globally, this also increases the probability of sporadically imported cases to EU/EEA countries.

Based on this, EU/EEA countries should ensure that timely and rigorous infection prevention and control measures (IPC) are applied around any detected nCoV cases in the EU/EEA, in order to prevent further spread in the community and healthcare settings. Healthcare workers in the EU/EEA need to be aware and vigilant in order to detect possible nCoV cases early and apply appropriate infection control measures when handling patients.

Right now, the focus still should be on the development of the outbreak in China and the related information on the characteristics of the virus.

The source of the infection is unknown and could be still active. Human-to-Human transmission has been confirmed but more information is needed to evaluate the full extent of this mode of transmission and understanding how the virus spreads. This is a rapidly evolving situation, ECDC is revising its risk assessment for Europe.

January 28, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan Decides to Designate New Pneumonia as Specificed Disease”. From the article:

The Japanese government decided Tuesday to designate pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus raging in China as a specified infectious disease, aiming to put the designation into effect in early February.

The government adopted at a cabinet meeting an ordinance for the designation under the infectious disease law, which will allow authorities to conduct compulsory hospitalizations of infected patients and stop them from going to work.

Under the ordinance, the disease will be designated as a quarantinable infectious disease under quarantine law.

It is the first time for the government to add a disease to the list of specified diseases since 2014, when Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, joined the list.

January 28, 2020: Ohio Department of Health posted a tweet: “There are no confirmed cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Ohio. However, ODH is closely monitoring two possible cases reported by Miami University in Butler County.” This tweet was the start of a thread.

January 28, 2020: Ohio Department of Health posted a tweet: “Both students being monitored had recently returned from China. Neither individual is severely ill. They are currently in isolation pending test results.”

January 28, 2020: Ohio Department of Health posted a tweet: “The CDC is conducting the testing, and results are expected by the end of the week.”

January 28, 2020: Ohio Department of Health posted a tweet: “ODH has been working diligently with our health partners and local health districts across the state to ensure we are prepared if a case is confirmed in Ohio.”

January 28, 2020: Ohio Department of Health posted a tweet: “Five U.S. cases of 2019-nCoV have been confirmed by the CDC. Unless you have recently traveled from China or have been around someone ill with this new virus, your risk of getting sick is low.”

January 28, 2020: Ohio Department of Health posted a tweet: “Investigations are ongoing to learn more about transmission. There is no known person-to-person spread of 2019-nCoV in the U.S.”

January 28, 2020: Ohio Department of Health posted a tweet: “Symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Seek medical care if you are experiencing symptoms and traveled from Wuhan City, China, in the 14 days before you started feeling sick.”

January 28, 2020: Ohio Department of Health posted a tweet: “Also seek medical care if you are exhibiting symptoms and, in the 14 dasy before symptoms appeared, had close contact with a person who is under investigation for 2019-nCoV”.

January 28, 2020: Ohio Department of Health posted a tweet: “Just like other illnesses, it’s critical to protect yourself against the virus: wash hands often, follow appropriate cough and sneeze etiquette, don’t go to work or school when you feel ill; avoid exposure to others who are sick.” This is not the end of the thread, but it is the last one with relevant information in regards to this blog post.

January 28, 2020:New South Wales Health posted another Novel Coronavirus Statistics (as of 11:30 AM that day). Number of cases confirmed: 4. Number of cases under investigation: 6.

The U.S. Government is relocating approximately 210 U.S. citizens from Wuhan, China back to the United States. The Department of State has the lead for the safe and expedient ordered departure of citizens. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are collaborating with the Department of State on the logistics of public health evaluations for every traveler on the flight. HHS and CDC are working with partners to ensure that any traveler who develops symptoms during their journey receives appropriate medical care.

Our primary objective is to facilitate the safe return of these Americans while protecting the public’s health. These individuals will be screened before they take off; monitored during the duration of the flight by medical personnel on board; screened again on landing to refuel in Anchorage, Alaska; monitored on the last leg of the flight by medical personnel on board; evaulated upon arrival at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California; and then monitored for symptoms post-arrival.

On 28th January, the Ministry of Public Health, Thailand announced there have been a total of 14 cases of Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV detected in Thailand. 13 cases had travelled from Wuhan and 1 case from Chongqing. Five of the cases are from the same family…

January 28, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Toyota Bans Business Trips to China’s Hubei”. From the article:

Toyota Motor Corp. <7203> has banned employees from going on business trips to China’s Hubei Province, due to an outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus, company officials said Tuesday.

Previously, the Japanese automaker had told its employees to refrain from making nonessential business trips to the provincial capital, Wuhan, where the outbreak is believed to have started.

Currently, no Toyota workers are on business trips in Hubei, the officials said.

January 28, 2020:World Health Organization (WHO) posted “Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation Report – 8” The data in it was reported by January 28, 2020. From the report:

Highlights:

A World Health Organization (WHO) senior leadership team, led by Director-General Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus, today met President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing. They shared the latest information on the outbreak and reiterated their committment to bring it under control.

The discussions focused on continued collaboration to improve containment measures in Wuhan, to strengthen public health measures in other cities and provinces, to conduct further studies and transmissibility of the virus, to continue to share data, and for China to share biological material with WHO. These measures will advance scientific understanding of the virus and contribute to the development such as vaccines and treatments…

…WHO is launching a Global 2019-nCoV Clinical Data Platform to allow Member States to contribute anonymized clinical data in order to inform public health clinical response.

WHO is continually monitoring developments and the Director-General can reconvene the Emergency Committee on very short notice as needed. Committe members are regularly informed of the developments.

Countries, territories, or areas with reported confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV, 28 January 2020:

An outgoing outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China has been linked to a newly-discovered coronavirus. This outbreak has been linked to possible exposure to infection at the South China Seafood City market in Wuhan. The market is now closed.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) report that as of 26 January 2020, a total of 2,026 laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV cases have been reported. 1,988 in China and 38 imported cases from other countries aroudn the world. Fifty six deaths have been reported among the cases. Chinese health authorites have confirmed human-to-human transmission outside Hubei province and 16 healthcare workers are reported to have been infected. Confirmed cases have been reported in Australia, Nepal, Melaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the US, Canada, Singapore, Vietnam and France.

This is a new and rapidly evolving situation where information on cases and the virus is being gathered and assessed daily.

As of 27 January 2020 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all travel to Hubei province. Travellers should check the FCO website on updates on a regular basis as travel advisories may change.

All travellers to China are advised to take simple precautions such as practicing good hand, personal and respiratory hygiene, and avoid contact with birds, and animals in markets….

January 28, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan Confirms 1st Coronavirus Infection without Visit to Wuhan”. From the article:

A person in Japan has been confirmed infected with a new coronavirus despite not having visited the Chinese city of Wuhan at the center of the pneumonia outbreak, Japanese health minister Katsunobu Kato said Tuesday.

The infection marks the first time for the new virus to be confirmed in Japan from someone who did not travel to Wuhan, Hubei Province.

January 28, 2020:Australian Government Department of Health posted news titled: “Update on novel coronavirus”. It is a transcript. The Chief Medical Officer joined Minister Hunt for an announcement at the Sir Peter MacCallum Center Institute. The CMO and Minister Hunt also gave an update on novel coronavirus in Australia. From the transcript:

As of this morning, there are five confirmed cases in Australia of coronavirus. Other cases will continue to be tested by state health authorities and as results are known they will be made available publicly.

All of those five patients, we are advised, are stable, in isolation and under very high quality care.

Globally, on the latest figures available, 2800 patients have been confirmed and 80 deaths, but we expect that the Chinese and World Health Organization authorities will provide an update on those figures during the course of today.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee to reaffirm all of the elements of our national preparedness.

The World Health Organization reviewed Australia’s preparedness two years ago as part of a global survey, and we were identified as being at the absolute global forefront of preparedness.

But all of those elements are being put in place now, and I will let Professor Murphy speak to those a little bit more.

In particular, the Australian Government, through the embassy, has also been in contact with Chinese authorities about Australians who are in Wuhan and the broader Hubei Province.

Significant progress, significant progress has been made overnight, and we are exploring all options with the Chinese authorities, both to ensure that there is support and care for Australians on the ground, and that there is a pathway to returning them home.

And the advice from the Foreign Minister shortly before coming to this event is that there has been significant progress.

So I want to thank the embassy and the Chinese authorities, and we will continue to ensure that we have strong broader protection, the highest quality medical care in the world, and action to protect and secure those Australians who are in Hubei Province in China. Brendan?

Brendan Murphy: Thank you, Minister. So as the Minister said, given the update on the numbers, the main message that we’re trying to give still to the Australian public is that there is no cause for concern in the Australian public.

There is no human to human transmission of this virus. And it’s important to note because we had some media about masks today.

There is no need for the Australian public to wear masks. There is- the only people who should wear masks in relation to this virus are those who are unwell and have a relevant travel history.

Our most important thing now is for those who have come back from China in the last two weeks, whom developed flu-like symptoms, particularly if they’ve come from the Hubei Province of China, they need to call ahead to their GP or their emergency department, tell them of their travel history and get tested.

As the Minister said, we’re testing a large number of people across the country every day.

The vast majority of them are negative, as we always expected it to be, but we all do expect that it is likely we might find some more positives over the next few days, but we are extremely well prepared.

All of our state and territory health services have stood up teams to be prepared, their public health units have activated. We’ve got very, very good isolation facilities.

We now have very good diagnostic facilities; same day diagnostics- turn around in diagnosis in most parts of the country.

And we have also put up additional border measures that I outlined yesterday – in addition to every single flight from China, because this disease is now present in significant numbers in other parts of China, mainly from people who have come from the Hubei Province.

There’s no clear evidence that there’s human to human transmission in those other parts of China, but because people are appearing with the disease in other parts of China, every flight from China is being met and entered by border security officers and making sure that everyone on the flight gets information in English and Mandarin about the need to report their travel history, if they develop symptoms after they arrive, and obviously if they have any symptoms, they should declare themselves to a border security officer at the airport.

And we’ve had a three-fold increase in people reporting ill symptoms to border security officers. Mostly just trivial symptoms, but the message is getting out there.

So we are well prepared. We are still concerned about what is happening in China.

This outbreak is not under control. The Chinese authorities are doing a lot of things.

As we know, they’ve locked down the Hubei Province, very hard to get out of there. That’s the main focus of this infection at the moment, but we are reviewing things daily.

Yesterday, I convened the expert public Health Committees of the Commonwealth and states and territories to review all of our advice and all of the situations that are happening at the moment.

Sales of face masks and other hygiene products have been surging in Japan amid the spread of pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus, with people from China, where the outbreak started, massively buying masks in particular.

“Chinese people living in Japan have bought 10 to 20 boxes of masks at once,” the manager of a drug store in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward said. As masks sell out as soon as they come back in stock, the store started on Tuesday to allow one customer to buy only one box.

At a different drug store, a Chinese woman in her 30s, who lives in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, said that she has already sent more than 100 boxes of masks to her family in Shanghai and will buy more because they are not available in the city.

At drug stores run by Weicia Holdings Co. <3141>, sales of masks in the latest week doubled from the preceding week.

A public relations official of the company said that masks are in high demand among both Japanese and Chinese people. Sales of antibacterial sprays and had sanitizers are also growing, the official said.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) was this afternoon notified of the latest advice from Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, regarding the coronavirus. The updated advice follows a meeting of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee on Wednesday afternoon. This major new development confirmed that health experts believe the coronavirus is contagious before people show symptoms, and contacts of any confirmed cases must now be isolated following exposure.

The health and wellbeing of all players, staff and spectators is of paramount importance to both FFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

FFA is working with the Australian Government and AFC to explore ramifications of this advice and how it may affect the staging of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Qualifiers.

As a result of these developments, which came to light following today’s match schedule announcements, FFA will not be going on sale tomorrow with tickets for the tournament.

FFA will provide a further update as soon as possible.

January 28, 2020:New York State website posted news titled: “Governor Cuomo Issues Update on Novel Coronavirus as One More New Yorker is Identified for Testing Bringing Total to 10”. From the news:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced an update on the status of testing for the novel coronavirus in New York State. As of today, the New York State Department of Health has sent samples for 10 individuals to the CDC for testing with seven found to be negative and three more still pending. So far, there are no confirmed cases in New York State.

“While we continue to closely monitor the spread of this novel coronavirus, I have directed our Department of Health to continue communicating with and providing updates to our local communities, healthcare providers, colleges, universities, and New York companies with locations or business interests in China,” Governor Cuomo said. “My message to New Yorkers is: takte this coronavirus seriously, take proper precautions, stay informed, but also feel confident that our Health Department and this administration are prepared and ready.”

The Department of Health continues to provide guidance to New York’s colleges and universities, many of which have international students from China, on how to identify the virus, update students, and promote prevention measures….

On January 27, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated travel guidance for China, recommending that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to all of the country (Level 3 Health Notice). This warning is in response to an ongoing outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (2019-nCoV) spreadking between people in many parts of that country.

Chinese health officials have reported thousands of 2019-nCoV cases in China, as well as severe illness including deaths. Sustained person-to-person community spread with this virus is reportedly occuring in China.

A number of travel-associated cases of 2019-nCoV infection have also been identified in other locations, including in the United States. In other parts of Asia, some limited person-to-person spread has been detected among close contacts of travelers returning from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, however, community spread with this virus has not been reported in locations outside China.

In the United States, there have been 5 cases of 2019-nCoV detected in travelers returning from Wuhan. No person-to-person spread has been detected in the United States at this time and this virus is NOT spreading in the community.

While it;s possible that some person-to-person spread with this virus may be detected in the United States, the goal of the ongoing U.S. public health response is to contain this outbreak and prevent sustained spread in this country.

Based on the current information, the immediate health risk from 2019-nCoV to the general American public is considered low at this time. However, risk is dependent on exposure and some people will have greater risk of infection, for example, healthcare workers caring for 2019-nCoV and other close contacts. CDC is aggressively responding to this serious public health situation to help protect the health of Americans. This response may cause disruptions in some people’s daily lives. This is unfortunate, but necessary to protect the health of Americans.

January 29, 2020:Victoria State Government (Australia) posted a press release titled: “Second novel coronavirus case in Victoria”. From the press release:

Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services confirmed a second Victorian case of the 2019 novel coronavirus.

The man in his 60s, a Victoria resident, is isolated and recovering at home. He was confirmed as positive this morning following a series of tests after experiencing a respiratory illness.

After the positive result, the man was seen by doctors at the Monash Medical Centre in accordance with infection control procedures and was assessed as well enough to stay at home.

The Victorian man had traveled to Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The man first became unwell more than two days after returning from China. There is no current evidence that passengers or crew on the flight that the man took to return to Melbourne are at risk.

The department is monitoring five close contacts who live with the man. Two of the contacts are children who have been excluded from school…

January 29, 2020: The CDC reported the onset of 1 additional COVID-19 case in the United States.

January 29, 2020: President Donald Trump tweeted: “Just recieved a briefing on the Coronavirus in China from all of our GREAT agencies, who are also working closely with China. We will continue to monitor the ongoing developments. We have the best experts anywhere in the world, and they are on top of it 24/7!” The tweet include four photos of President Trump, and several other men, seated at a very long table.

Countries, territories or areas with reported cases of 2019-nCoV, 29 January 2020:

Four confirmed cases reported in United Arab Emirates, in individuals travelling from Wuhan City.

World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, has set up a public private collaboration called “The Pandemic Supply Chain Network (PSCN)”. It is a Market Network that seeks to provide a platform for data sharing, market visibility, and operational coordination and connecting.

Today, OSCN is launching the first of several teleconfernece calls with over 350 private sector organizations and 10 multilateral organizations to develop a market capacity and risk assessment for personal protective equipment (PPE). This assessment will be used as the basis to match the global demand for PPE with the global supply. The market and risk assessment for PPE is expected to be completed by 5 February 2020.

The Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) is re-convened by the World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on 30 January.

January 29, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “1st Group of Japanese Returns Home from Virus-Hit Wuhan”. From the article:

A government-chartered plane arrived at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda from Wuhan on Wednesday morning, bringing back 206 Japanese nationals from the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak in China.

They are the first group to arrive in Japan among the Japanese nationals in Wuhan waiting to return home aboard government-chartered flights.

The group will be transferred by bus to medical institutions for checks. They will not use airport terminal facilities, in order to avoid contact with passengers there.

This is the first time for the Japanese government to help its nationals return home in response to an infectious disease outbreak, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The chartered All Nippon Airways plane arrived at an airport in Wuhan in the small hours of Wednesday Japan time, carrying 15,000 face masks, 50,000 gloves, 8,000 protective glasses and other emergency relief supplies for China.

January 29, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Chartered Plane Arrives in Wuhan to Bring Japanese Home”. From the article:

An All Nippon Airways plane chartered by the Japanese government arrived at an airport in Wuhan late Tuesday night local time on a mission to bring home Japanese nationals from the city in China’s Hubei Province following the outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new type of deadly coronavirus in the country.

The airplane operated by the major Japanese carrier will ferry some 200 people, who will be the first group of Japanese to be evacuated from the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak using government-charted aircraft.

The ANA plane will depart from the Wuhan airport in several hours and arrive back at Haneda on Wednesday morning. Returning in the first group will be mainly people with high risks of infection, including those living near the outbreak epicenter.

For the first round of airlifting operations, the plane left Haneda for Wuhan on Tuesday night, also carrying relief goods, such as face masks and protective suits, for supply to the Chinese side.

As of Tuesday, some 650 Japanese nationals in Hubei said they wish to return to Japan, according to the government.

January 29, 2020:New South Wales Health posted another Novel Coronavirus Statistics (as of 10AM that day). Number of cases confirmed: 4. Number of cases under investigation: 6.

A government-chartered plane arrived at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda from Wuhan on Wednesday morning, bringing back 206 Japanese nationals from the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak in China.

They are the first group to arrive in Japan among the Japanese nationals in Wuhan waiting to return home aboard government-chartered flights.

The group will be transferred by bus to medical institutions for checks. They will not use airport terminal facilities, in order to avoid contact with flight passengers there.

This is the first time for the Japanese government to help its nationals return home in response to an infectious disease outbreak, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The chartered All Nippon Airways plane arrived at an airport in Wuhan in the small hours of Wednesday Japan time, carrying 15,000 face masks, 50,000 gloves, 8,000 protective glasses and other emergency relief supplies for China.

January 29, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Toyota to Keep China Plants Closed until Feb. 9”. From the article:

Toyota Motor Corp. <7203> will keep its plants in China closed until at least Feb. 9, in response to the spread of a new coronavirus in the country, company officials said Wednesday.

Whether to reopen the plants on Feb. 10 depends on the situation, one of the officials said.

Toyota has four auto assembly plants in China.

Previously, the company planned to reopen a plant in Tianjin on Monday, and a plant in Guangzhou on Tuesday after suspensions during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Toyota said that it will donate 10 million yuan to the Red Cross Society of China to help finance its purchases of medical supplies such as masks.

AHPPC provides the following advice to the Australian community following advice from the Communicable Diseases Network Australia.

AHPPC is aware of:

very recent cases of novel coronavirus who are asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic and

reports of one case of probable transmission from a pre-symptomatic case to other people, two days prior to the onset of symptoms.

These data are very limited and preliminary and AHPPC still believes that most infections are transmitted by people with symptomatic disease. However, AHPPC believes that we should take a highly precautionary approach and is making the following new recommendations:

People who have been in contact with any confirmed novel coronavirus cases must be isolated in their home for 14 days following exposure;

Returned travellers who have been in Hubei Province of China must be isolated in their home for 14 days after leaving Hubei Province, other than for seeking individual medical care.

Given the lower number of cases in China reported outside Hubei province, we do not currently recommend self-isolation for travellers from other parts of China or other countries. We are closely monitoring the development of cases outside of Hubei province and will update this advice if necessary.

AHPPC recognises that the evidence for pre-symptomatic transmission is currently limited, and this policy is highly precautionary. At this time, the aim of this policy is containment of novel coronavirus and the prevention of person to person transmission within Australia.

Further details of the extent of pre-symptomatic transmission is being monitored, and may result in changes to policy.

Summary of evidence to support the revised advice

New international evidence suggest that asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic infection can occur, and that pre-symptomatic transmission has occurred in at least one case cluster.

1. German case cluster: It has been reported that participants at a workshop in Munich had contact with a woman on 21 January. This woman, who had been in Wuhan, became symptomatic on 23 January and diagnosed following return to China. Four workshop attendees, with no travel history to China, have been confirmed with nCoV and several more are under investigation.

2. A 10 year old child reported in a case series was noted as having no fever; although it is likely that this case may have had a cough sufficient to produce PCR positive sputum.

3. A Japanese person reported as a case was a bus driver who transported Chinese passengers from Wuhan. The Japanese person had no history of travel outside Japan. None of the passengers were known cases.

4. Several Chinese language media reports have detailed transmission from pre-symptomatic cases, but no confirmatory evidence has been published.

5. WHO Sitrep (#8) states that 3 of 58 cases diagnosed outside China were asymptomatic.

January 29, 2020: Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “More Aircraft May Fly to China Soon to Evacuate Japanese”. From the article:

The Japanese government is in the final stages of arrangements to send additional chartered aircraft on Wednesday night to evacuate expatriates from China’s Hubei Provence, at the center of the outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus that has caused pneumonia among a number of people.

The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will decide on Thursday to set up a task force to be headed by him to stop the new coronavirus from spreading further in the country.

According to the government, some 650 Japanese nationals in China province are wishing to return home via government-chartered flights. Of them, 206 returned on the first such flight on Wednesday morning.

“We’ll continue to take every possible measure to bring home all of the people hoping to come back to Japan,” Abe said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliment, on Wednesday. The government will also work on preventing the spread of the virus in Japan, he added.

In Japan, seven people, including one Japanese, were confirmed to be infected with the new virus.

January 29, 2020:The Desert Sun posted an article titled: “Over 200 US evacuees from coronavirus epicenter begin 72-hour evaluation period at March Air Reserve Base”. It was written by Colin Atagi. From the article:

As more than 200 U.S. evacuees from the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China began a sequestered, 72-hour evaluation period at March Air Reserve Base on Wednesday, health officials assured the public that the risk of a similar outbreak in the United States is “very low”…

…A contingent of federal, state and county health experts took questions from reporters Wednesday after a chartered plane filled with U.S. diplomats, their families, and other U.S. citizens who were in Wuhan, China, landed at the air force base near Morano Valley.

Authorities said the 210 passengers passed numerous screening tests to determine if they were exhibiting symptoms of the illness before being allowed on the plane, which stopped briefly in Anchorage, Alaska, where another series of screening tests were administered before continuing on to the Southern California air base.

Government officials made the decision to bring the passengers to Riverside County, although none of the passengers are from the county…

…Authorities said the evacuees are isolated from military personnel on base. For at least the next three days, they will be monitored twice a day for fever and other symptoms…

…Officials said the passengers who don’t exhibit symptoms in those first 72 hours will be able to travel to their home states and on to their families or residences. They will, however, continue to be monitored for a maximum of 14 days…

…Authorities were quick to say that the passengers were not under a federal quarantine order…

…The plane was charterd by the U.S. State Department after it issued an evacuation order for U.S. diplomats and their families, officials said, adding that the flight was large enough to accomodate more people than the State Department diplomats and their families…

…The CDC lab in Atlanta will be testing samples from the passengers and authorities believe these checks will be completed within 72 hours..

January 29, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “5 Japanese Returnees Test Negative for Wuhan Coronavirus”. From the article:

Five of the 206 Japanese nationals brought back on a government-chartered plane from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak of pneumonia blamed on a new strain of coronavirus, have tested negative for the virus, it was learned.

Feeling unwell, the five were sent to two hospitals designated as institutions to deal with specific infectious diseases following the All Nippon Airways flight’s arrival at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda.

Two of them were diagnosed with pneumonia. But they and the other three were all confirmed not to have the new coronavirus later. Three of the five are men in their 30s to 50s and two are women in their 50s.

According to the Tokyo metropolitian government, four of the five people were admitted to Ebara Hospital in Tokyo’s Ota Ward. Two of them – a man in his 40s and a man in his 50s – who complained of such symptoms as a cough and a fever were initially diagnosed with pneumonia following computed topography scan tests.

One of the two women was admitted to Komagome Hospital in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward.

The Australian Government is working across agencies to assist the departure of isolated and vulnerable Australians from Wuhan and to put strict quarantine arrangements in place.

Australian diplomatic and consular staff have been working very closely with the Chinese authorities and with other partner countries to develop options for the departure of Australians in Wuhan and Hubei Province, in what continues to be a difficult and complex situation.

The Australian Embassy in Beijing is now seeking formal approval from the Chinese Government to send a plane to Wuhan to assist the departure of Australians from Hubei Province…

…Australians departing on any flight arranged by the Australian Government will be flown to Christmas Island to undertake a period of quarantine of up to 14 days based on current medical advice, as a condition of their assisted departure.

This will ensure we are also prioritizing public health in Australia…

…An Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) will provide medical support and expert advice to returning to Australians upon arrival at Christmas Island.

There are over 600 Australian citizens currently registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. We will seek to speak with each of them in relation to the Goverment’s announcement. Our focus and priority is on vulnerable and isolated citizens…

…We advice that Australians do not travel to Hubei Province and reconsider their need to travel to China overall…

January 29, 2020: Reuters reported that Mondelez International Inc. maker of Oreos and Chips Ahoy cookies, said it expects its first-quarter revenue will be impacted by the coronavirus spreading across China, and it has temporarily closed two factories.

January 29, 2020: China Daily tweeted: “At 4:30 pm on Tuesday, about 10 million people were watching the ongoing construction of the Huoshenshan and Leishenshan hospitals – two makeshift hospitals for novel coronavirus patients in suburban #Wuhan”. The tweet included a link to a the China Daily website, where a livestream was available.

January 29, 2020:Reuters reported that IKEA said on Thursday that it has temporarily closed all its stores in China because of the new coronavirus.

January 29, 2020: People’s Daily, China, The largest newspaper in China, tweeted: “China is expected to resume its maks production with normal capacity on Feb 3 and produce 180m masks per day by the end of Feb. The domestic production, together with imported masks, will ease the gap between supply and demand, according to PLA Daily.”

June 29, 2020:Twitter posted on its blog: “Helping the world find credible information about novel #coronavirus”. It was written by Jun Chu and Jennifer McDonald. From the blog post:

As the global conversation continue around the spread of novel #coronavirus, we want to share the work we’re doing to surface the right informatio, to promote constructive engagement, and to highlight credible information on this emerging issue. We’ve seen over 15 million Tweets on this topic in the past four weeks and that trend looks set to continue.

Preventing platform manipulation

At present, we’re not seeing significant coordinated attempts to spread disinformation at scale about this issue. However, we will remain vigilant and have invested significantly in our proactive abilities to ensure trends, saerch, and other common areas of the services are protected from malicious behaviors. As ever, those who engage in these practicies will be removed from our service. We do not permit platform manipulation and we encourage people to think before sharing or engaging in deliberate attempts to undermine the public conversation.

Expanding search prompt

Given the rapidly evolving nature of the issue and the growing international response, we’ve launched a new dedicated search prompt to ensure that when you come to the service for information about the #coronavirus, you’re met with credible, authoratiative information first. In addition, we’re halting any auto-suggest results that are likely to direct individuals to non-credible content on Twitter. This is an expansion of our #KnowTheFacts prompt, which we specifically put in place for the public to find clear, credible information on immunization and vaccination health.

January 29, 2020:NPR posted an article titled: “Face Masks: What Doctors Say About Their Role in Containing Coronavirus”. It was written by Maria Godoy. From the article:

…But can a mask really keep you from catching the virus?

To answer that question, it helps to clarify what kinds of masks we’re talking about.

Because experts don’t yet know exactly how the virus is transmitted, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that health care workers treat it like an airborne pathogen – germs that can travel in particles or droplets in the air. That means health care workers interacting with a coronavirus patient should wear a heavy-duty mask called an N96 respirator. These respirators are designed to fit tightly around the nose and mouth, and, when worn correctly, block out at least 95% of small airborne particles, according to the CDC.

This morning, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with the Department of State recieved the flight carrying approximately 210 U.S. citizens from Wuhan at March Air Reserve Base in California.

The plane was met by a team of CDC medical officers deployed there to assess the health of the passengers. The passengers have been screened, monitored and evaluated by medical personnel every step of the way, including before takeoff, during the flight, during a refuling in Anchorage, Alaska, and now post-arrival. CDC and staff have conducted risk assessments to ensure the health of each traveler, including temperature checks and observing for respiratory symptoms.

CDC will work with the California Department of Public Health and Riverside County Public Health to transport any passenger exhibiting symptoms to a hospital for further evaluation. Passengers not exhibiting symptoms of exposure, will be asked to stay on the base in housing to allow CDC medical officers to perform more thorough screening and to better understand each individual’s exposure.

CDC is committed to protecting the heatlth and safety of Americans. At this time, we continue to believe the risk of coronavirus exposure to the general public is low. CDC is taking these measures to assess and care for these returning Americans to protect them, their loved ones, and their communities…

January 30, 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) held a second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus. The members of the committee were convened by teleconference.

Representatives of the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China reported there were now 7711 confirmed and 12167 suspected cases throughout the country. Of the confirmed cases, 1370 were severe and 170 people had died. 124 people had recovered and been discharged from hospital. WHO stated there were now 83 cases in 18 countries. Of them, only 7 had no history of travel in China. There has been human-to-human transmission in 3 countries outside China. One of those cases was severe, and there had been no deaths.

The Committee re-emphasized the importance of studying the possible source, to rule out hidden transmission and to inform risk management measures. The Committee also stated that all countries should be prepared for containment, including active surveillance, early detection, isolation and case management, contact tracing and prevention of onward spread of COVID-19, and to share full data with WHO.

In short, WHO Committee agreed that the COVID-19 outbreak now met the criteria for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

January 30, 2020:The Sydney Morning Herald posted an article titled: “Australians will need to pay $1000 to be evacuated from Wuhan”. It was written by Anthony Galloway and Eryk Bagshaw. From the article:

Australians trapped at the heart of the coronavirus outbreak will have to pay up to $1000 to be evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan to be quarantined on Christmas Island.

The Morrison government is in high-level negotiations with Beijing to dispatch a Quantas jet to rescue hundreds of Australian nationals from Wuhan…

…The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has begun contacting Australians stuck in Hubei province to inform them what they will need to do to get on the emergency flight, expected to arrive in Wuhan within days.

According to evacees, they will have to pay $1000 and sign a waiver allowing them to be quarantined at the Christmas Island detention centre for up to 14 days.

After their stay on Christmas Island, they will be dropped off in Perth and have to pay their own way to their city of residence…

…Australia has yet to recieve any official clearance from China for the evacuation after Foreign Minister Marise Payne and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, discussed the operation on Wednesday…

January 30, 2020:Australian Medical Association (AMA) posted a transcript of Dr. Tony Bartone from the Australian Medical Association discussing coronavirus and Christmas Island on “Today”. From the transcript:

…Allison Langdon: We’ve seen another two cases confrimed in Australia overnight. How do you think we’re handling this?

Tony Bartone: So right from the outset, its been handled according to best practice international guidelines and processes. We’ve been prepared. We’ve been rated previously as being equal best when it comes to preparedness to deal with this kind of outbreak. And we’ve been really focused on isolation, and contact tracing of those who have been exposed and the fact that more than a week on we’ve got such a relatively small number of cases confirmed is a real sign of the success thus far of the measures that have been implemented.

Karl Stefanovic: So the World Health Organization has advised Governments not to transport or evacuate their citizens from China. The solution from the Australian Government is let’s take them to Christmas Island. What are your thoughts on that?

Tony Bartone: So, I can understand why the Australian Government has put that process in place. It’s important to recognize that we’ve got a group of vulnerable Australians who, through no fault of their own, found themselves at the epicenter of a significant outbreak. And they must be under a lot of stress and fear and concern. Despite WHO’s recommendation, we feel that the repatriation to Christmas Island, to a place where has been previously the focus of populations under enormous mental and physical trauma and anguish, is not a really appropriate solution. We’ll be calling on the PM and the relevant Ministers to find a much more humane solution to dealing with a group of very vulnerable and concerned Australians.

Allison Langdon: But doctor, they’re not going there indefinitely. They’re going there for the two-week quarantine period. It’s not a long time to keep the rest of Australia safe.

Tony Bartone: I agree with the principle, but we can find a better set of facilities to deal with that, to manage that staged return to the community. We can protect the Australian community and also be much more humane to those Australians who, as I said, through no fault of their own, find themselves the focus of this epicenter…

January 30, 2020: The CDC reported the onset of 1 additional COVID-19 case in the United States.

The Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) is meeting today to discuss whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.

First confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease in Finland, India and Philippines; all had travel history to Wuhan City.

On 29 January, WHO held its third press briefing to provide update on the situation…

…WHO recommends that the interim name of the disease causing the current outbreak should be “2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease” (where the ‘n’ is for novel and “CoV” is for coronavirus). The name complies with the WHO Best Practices for Naming of New Infectious Diseases, which were developed through a consultative process among partner agencies. Endorsement for the interim name is being sought from WHO’s partner agencies, World Organiztion for Animal Health (OIE) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The final name of the disease will be provided by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). WHO is also proposing ‘2019-nCoV” as an interim name of the virus. The final decision of the official name of the virus will be made by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

Countries, territories or areas with reported confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV, 30 January 2020:

January 30, 2020: President Trump tweeted: “Great photos from a SOUTHERN BORDER WALL Briefing with Secretary of Defense, Mark @EsperDod!”

The tweet was the start of a five tweet thread. Each tweet had four photos of the wall that Trump promised in his 2016 campaign. This thread was meant to attract Trump’s supporters, in the hopes they will vote for him again in 2020.

January 30, 2020: President Trump tweeted: “Just landed in Michigan. Car companies, and many others, are building and expanding here. Great to see!”

January 30, 2020: President Donald Trump tweeted: “Working closely with China and others on Coronavirus outbreak. Only 5 people in U.S., all in good recovery.”

January 30, 2020: World Health Organization Philippines tweeted: “Today, the Department of Health announced the first confirmed case of 2019 novel #coronavirus in the Philippines. The patient is 38 years old from China.”

January 30, 2020: World Health Organization Phillippines tweeted: “The announcement was done today by @SecDuque in a press briefing, after results were recieved from the confimatory test done at the reference laboratory in Australia.”

January 30, 2020: World Health Organization tweeted photos of the @DOHgov press release. From the press release:

DOH CONFIRMS FIRST 2019-NCOV CASE IN THE COUNTRY; ASSURES PUBLIC OF INTENSIFIED CONTAINMENT MEASURES

The Department of Health (DOH) today confirmed that a 38-year-old female Chinese patient under investigation (PUI) is positive for the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) after her laboratory results arrived today from Victorian Infectious Disease Reference Library in Melbourne, Australia. DOH, however, continues to guarantee the public that all necessary precautionary measures are being taken to halt the spread of the virus.

The confirmed case arrived in the Philippines from Wuhan, China via Hong Kong last January 21, 2020. The patient sought consult and was admitted in one of the country’s government hospitals last January 25 after experiencing mild cough. She is currently aysmptomatic.

“I assure the public that the Department of Health is on top of this evolving situation. We were able to detect the first confirmed case becaues of our strong surveillance system, close coordination with World Health Organization and other national agencies, and the utilization of DOH’s decision tool. We are working closely with the hospital where the patient is admitted and have activated the Incident Command System of the said hospital for appropriate management, specifically on infection control, case management and containment. We are also implementing measures to protect the health staff providing care to these patients,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

DOH is also in close coordination with the Intre-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) which includes representatives of the Departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Interior and Local Government (DILG), Justice (DOJ), Labor and Employment (DOLE), Tourism (DOT), Transportation (DOTr), and Information and Communications Technology (DICT). The Task Force will convene a high-level meeting tomorrow, January 31, 2020, to discuss the first confirmed case and developments arising from this health issue.

The Bureau of Quarantine remains on high alert and is in constant coordination with authorities from all ports of entry for stricter border surveillance. DOH assures that its health facilities are equipped and prepared to recieve and care for PUI’s and confirmed 2019-nCoV cases.

DOH has recorded a total of twenty-nine (29) PUI’s – eighteen (18) in Metro Manila, four (4) in Central Visayas, three (3) in Western Visayas, one (1) in MMAROPA, one (1) in Eastern Visayas, one (1) in Northern Mindano, and one (1) in Davao. Twenty-three (23) PUI’s are currently admittedand five (5) have been discharged but are still under strict monitoring. DOH also reported one PUI mortality.

“I urge the public to stay calm and remain vigilant at all times. Let us continue to practice good personal hygiene and adopt healthy lifestyles,” the Health Secretary concluded.

January 30, 2020: Victoria State Government (Australia) posted a press release titled: “Third Novel Coronavirus case in Victoria”. From the press release:

Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services confirmed a third case of Novel Coronavirus in Victoria.

The total number of confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus in Victoria now is three. There are currently eight pending results and a total of 71 negative results.

The latest case a woman in her 40s, a visitor from Hubei Province in China, is in a stable condition with the respiratory illness. She has been confirmed positive today following a series of tests.

The patient is in isolation in the Royal Melbourne Hospital in accordance with recommended infection control procedures.

The woman attended a GP and was referred to the hospital immediately. Two close contacts are being provided support and education and monitored closely for signs and symptoms of illness…

January 30, 2020: Ohio Department of Health tweeted: “ODH, CDC, CCBH determined that the sixth U.S. confirmed coronavirus case was not infectious during his day trip to Cleveland. It is important to remember the U.S. is still low risk for nCoV. There are no additional PUIs related to this case on OH.”

January 30, 2020: Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “New Coronavirus Detected in 3 Japanese Returnees from Wuhan”. From the article:

A new coronavirus originating in Wuhan has been detected in three of the 206 Japanese nationals who returned home aboard a government-chartered flight Wednesday, a government official said Thursday.

The three are among the 12 returnees hospitalized after returning from the Chinese city, according to the health minister Katsuobu Kato.

We have been working in close collaboration with international colleagues and the World Health Organization to monitor the situation in China and around the world.

In light of the increasing number of cases in China and using existing and widely tested models, the 4 UK Chief Medical Officers consider it prudent for our governments to escalate planning and preperation in case of a more widespread outbreak.

For that reason, we are advising an increase of the UK risk level from low to moderate. This does not mean we think to risk to individual in the UK has changed at this stage, but that government should plan for all eventualities.

As we have previously said, it is likely there will be individual cases and we are confident in the ability of the NHS in England, Scotland, and Wales and HSC in Northern Ireland to manage these in a way that protects the public and provides high quality care.

January 30, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Human-to-Human Spread of Coronavirus Confirmed in Japan”. From the article:

Human-to-human transmission of a new strain of coronavirus that caused a pneumonia outbreak in China was confirmed in Japan, the health ministry said Thursday.

The ministry called on not only people who have visited the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis, but also those who developed symptoms such as coughing after contracting people with records of staying in Wuhan, to go see a doctor after making an advance call.

Following the confirmation of the human-to-human spread of the virus, the ministry expanded the scope of people who are required to call medical institutions in advance to newly include those who had secondary contacts.

In Japan, a driver of a bus that carried 60 tourists from Wuhan and a guide on the same bus have been confirmed to be infected with the virus.

The ministry called on people not to worry more than necessary, saying that “the virus has not become widespread at the moment”. It advised people to take steps similar to those for avoiding the flu, such as wearing masks and washing hands.

January 30, 2020: New South Wales Health posted another Novel Coronavirus Statistics (as of 9:30 AM that day). Number of cases confirmed: 4. Number of cases under investigation: 7. Number of cases tested negative: 10.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that it is “very regrettable” that two Japanese returnees from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, refused to have virus tests.

Officials “tried for a long time” to persuade them to accept virus tests as the government has no legal grounds to forcibly conduct such tests, Abe told a House of Councillors committee meeting.

The two were among the first batch of Japanese nationals brought back home on a government-chartered plane on Tuesday.

The prime minister said the government is now asking Japanese citizens still in the locked-down Chinese city and surrounding areas, before they board additional charter flights to return home, to agree to undergo virus tests.

During the Upper House committee meeting, Abe agreed to the view expressed by an opposition lawmaker that it is problematic that Taiwan was not invited to an emergency meeting of the World Health Organization on the coronavirus outbreak.

Number of new cases 4 (see below). Number of cases under investigation: 20. Number of cases cleared: 50.

Of the four confirmed cases, two patients have been discharged, a 53 year old male and a 35 year old male.

Two patients remain in hospital, a 21 year old female and a 43 year old male.

January 30, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan to Do Follow-Up Survey on People Who Have Stayed in Wuhan”. From the article:

Japan’s government on Thursday decided to conduct a follow-up survey on all people entering the country who have been to China’s Wuhan, the epicenter of the pneumonia outbreake caused by a new coronavirus.

The decision was made at the first meeting of a task force headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, set up to prevent the spread of the virus.

Under the plan, the government will obtain information on the places of stay of such people, including foreigners, in Japan and conduct the follow-up survey, which will include medical checks.

Meanwhile, a third government-chartered flight left Tokyo International Airport at Hanada for Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei Province, on Thursday night to bring back more Japanese nationals.

“We’ll implement thorough health management, including viral tests, regardless of whether (people) display symptoms,” Abe said at the task force meeting. He instructed his cabinet members to work as one to implement necessary measures without hesitation while putting top priority on protecting the lives and health of the Japanese people.

January 30, 2020: Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus tweeted: “I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of #2019nCoV, not because of what is happening in #China, but becaues of what is happening in other countries.” The tweet included a link to Periscope.

January 30, 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) posted “Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)”.

It included proceedings of the meeting, conclusions and advice, advice to WHO, advice to the People’s Republic of China, advice to all countries, and advice to the global community.

January 30, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “The total number of confirmed cases of the 2019 novel #coronavirus reported from mainland China to date is 9,692. This includes 1,527 severe cases and 213 people who have died. #nCoV #nCoV2019 #2019nCoV” This was the start of a thread.

January 30, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “It is important to note that the case numbers reflect date reported, not date of illness onset. #coronavirus #nCoV #nCoV2019 #2019nCoV” This was the last tweet in the thread.

The number of bookings for All Nippon Airways flights from China to Japan in February is now nearly half the year-before level, ANA Holdings Inc. <9202> revealed Thursday.

Amid the spread of a new coronavirus from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the nubmer of bookings for ANA flights from Japan to China is also far fewer, down about 40 pct, according to the parent company.

The slump in bookings partly reflects the cancellation of ANA flights between Wuhan and Narita International Airport near Tokyo throughout February…

January 30, 2020:The Guardian posted an article titled: “Coronavirus: Britons to be quarantined in Wirral after arriving from Wuhan”. It was written by Simon Murphy and Dan Sabbagh. From the article:

Around 120 Britons will fly from the Chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak overnight and land in the UK on Friday morning where they will be taken to Wirral for a fortnight’s quarantine…

…Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, announced that the emergency flight, which was delayed by 24 hours, would be taking off from Wuhan and was due to land at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire at around 9am.

Military doctors will be onboard the chartered plane in case immediate treatment is necessary, although any passengers displaying symptoms of the virus – which can include a sore throat, fever and breathing dificulties – will be barred from boarding.

It is undersood that there will be a quarantine area in the plane in case somebody falls ill during the flight.

The returnees will be bussed to Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral where they will be monitored and treated if any symptoms develop. They will be staying in an accomodation block usually designated for NHS staff. Margaret Greenwood, the Labour MP for Wirral West, said she had spoken to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, who told her that experts believed it was unlikely that those quarantined had the virus.

Passengers were asked to sign contracts agreeing to the 14-day quarantine as a condition of getting the flight home. A further 50 EU nationals will also be on the chartered flight, which will fly on to Spain where it will complete its journey…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed that the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has spread between two people in the United States, representing the first instance of person-to-person spread with this new virus here.

Previously, all confirmed U.S. cases had been associated with travel to Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by this novel coronavirus has been ongoing since December 2019. However, this latest 2019-nCoV patient has no history of travel to Wuhan, but shared a household with the patient diagnosed with 2019-nCoV infection on January 21, 2020.

Recognizing early on that the 2019-nCoV could potentially spread between people, CDC has been working closely with state and local partners to identify close contacts of confirmed 2019-nCoV cases. Public health officials identified this Illinois resident through contact tracing. Both patients are in stable condition.

Given what we’ve seen in China and other countries with the novel coronavirus, CDC experts have expected some person-to-person spread in the US,” said CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, M.D. “We understand that this may be concerning, but based on what we know now, we still believe the immediate risk to the American public is low.”

Limited person-to-person spread with 2019-nCoV has been seen among close contacts of infected travelers in other countries where imported cases from China have been detected. The full picture of how easily and sustainably the 2019-nCoV spreads is still unclear. Person-to-person spread can happen on a continuum, with some viruses being highly contagious (like measles) and other viruses being less so…

…CDC is working closely with Illinois health officials and other local partners. A CDC team has been on the ground since the first 2019-nCoV-positive case was identified and is supporting an ongoing investigation to determine whether further spread with this virus has occured.

It is likely there will be more cases of 2019-nCoV reported in the U.S. in the coming days and weeks, including more person-to-person spread. CDC will continue to update the public as we learn more about his coronavirus. The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to this virus. Right now, 2019-nCoV has not been found to be spreading widely in the United States, so CDC deems the immediate risk from this virus to the general public to be low. However, risk is dependent on exposure, and people who are in contact with people with 2019-nCoV are likely to be at greater risk of infection and should take the precautions outlined in CDC’s guidance for preventing spread in homes and communities…

January 30, 2010: The Guardian posted an article titled: “Coronavirus deaths leap in China as countries struggle to evacuate citizens”. It was written by Sarah Boseley and Justin McCurry. From the article:

China has reported its biggest single-day jump in coronavirus deaths, as countries struggled to evacuate citizens still trapped in the city where the outbreak began and Russia closed it long border with its southern neighbour.

The death toll rose to 170 on Thursday – up from 132 the previous day, a rise of 29%. The number of confirmed cases in China now stands at 7,736, up from 5,974 a day ago. The actual death rate has not risen, and is now at 2.2%

The number of global cases is 7,818…

…In Moscow, the Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin issued a decree ordering the temporary closure of the country’s border with China, which extend for 2,600 miles (4,200 kms). The border had been de facto closed because of the lunar new year holiday, but authorities said the closure would be extended until 1 March. In addition, all train traffic between the two countries, except for one train connecting Moscow and Beijing, was stopped on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the US and South Korea confirmed their first cases of person-to-person spread of the virus. The man in the US is married to a 60-year-old Chicago woman who got sick from the virus after she returned from a trip to Wuhan. The case in South Korea was 56-year-old man who had contact with a patient who was previously diagnosed with the virus..

January 30, 2020:NBC News posted an article titled: “Cruise with 6,000 people stuck on board due to coronavirus scare gets clean bill of health”. It was written by Claudio Lavanga and David K. Li. From the article:

Thousands of passengers, including more than 100 Americans, were stuck on their Italian cruise ship for much of Thursday after a passenger showed symptoms of the coronavirus, officials said.

But by late Thursday night, all 6,000 passengers and 1,000 crew had been given the medical OK to come and go from the Cost Smeralda, officials said.

Earlier in the day, the cruise line operator announced that everyone had to stay on board after one traveler appeared to fall ill.

It turns out the sickened female guest, a 54-year-old Chinese national, was “diagnosed…with the common flu,” according to a statement Thursday night from Costa Crociere…

…The ship has 1,143 passengers who were scheduled Thursday to end their cruise in Civitaecchia, a port city about 50 miles northwest of Rome.

Health officials with the maritime authority in Civitavecchia had given those travelers permission to leave the ship earlier in the day – but that city’s mayor asked for that disembarkment to be delayed until the results of all medical tests were known.

The maritime authority agreed to that delay, according to Patrick Vignola, a spokesman for the mayor..

January 30, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Honda Decides to Put Off Restart of Wuhan Plans”. From the article:

Honda Motor Co. <7267> said Thursday that it has decided to keep its automobile plants in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak of a new coronavirus, closed until Feb. 13.

The Japanese automaker earlier planned to keep facilities offline through next Sunday in line with the Lunar New Year holiday in China.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. <7211> plans to extend the period of closure for its two facilities in Shanghai, including a research and development base, by seven days until Feb. 9, sources in the company said.

Japanese companies are scrambling to deal with the spread of the coronavirus, as prolonged effects of the outbreak are feared to disrupt supply chains for their branches in China…

January 30, 2020: The New Zealand Goverment posted a release titled: “Government charters Air NZ flight to assist Wuhan departure”. It was posted by RT Honorable Winston Peters the Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs. From the release:

The Government has agreed with Air New Zealand to charter an aircraft to assist New Zealanders leaving Wuhan, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.

The aircraft will have the capacity for around 300 passengers and will fly from Wuhan to New Zealand. Officials will be working through operational requirements with Air New Zealand and Chinese authorities.

New Zealanders in the Hubei region who are registerd on Safetravel have been emailed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to register interest in the flight, which is subject to Chinese Government approval…

…Consular teams will be working with health officials to ensure that the risks of transmission of the Coronavirus to New Zealand are carefully managed throughout the evacuation process.

Officials are currently developing procedures for: pre-departure health screening of passengers, infection control inflight, and isolation of all passengers arriving in New Zealand for up to two weeks.

Those who do take a seat on the plan will be required to pay a nominal fee, however the government will absorb most of the cost of the charter flight…

The Chinese government should ensure that human rights are protected while responding to the coronavirus outbreak, Human Rights Watch said today. As of January 29, 2020, confirmed cases of the infection, formally known as 2019-nCov, globally stood at 6,065, and the death toll at 132.

The Chinese government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak was initially delayed by withholding information from the public, underreporting cases of infection, downplaying the severity of the infection, and dismissing the likelihood of transmission between humans. Since mid-January, authorities have taken a more aggressive approach, quarantining 50 million people in an effort to limit transmission from the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, where the virus originated, to the rest of China. In addition, authorities have detained people for “rumor-mongoring,” censored online discussions of the epidemic, curbed media reporting, and failed to ensure appropriate access to medical care for those with virus symptoms and others with medical needs…

January 30, 2020:Boston Symphony Orchestra posted a press release titled: “Boston Symphony Orchestra Tour to East Asia Under The Direction Of Andris Nelsons, February 6-16, Is Canceled Due To Widly Documented Concerns Over The Spread Of The New Coronavirus”. From the press release:

The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s four-city tour to East Asia (Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Shanghai) with Andris Nelsons, February 6–16, has been canceled due to increasing concerns over widely documented official news and government agency reports assessing the spread of the new coronavirus. These concerns, along with discussions with the Shanghai Oriental Art Center—whose leadership informed the BSO about the official cancellations of their upcoming performances—followed by consultations with the tour’s presenters in Seoul, Taipei, and Hong Kong, combined to play an influential role in the cancellation of the BSO’s East Asia tour.

“On behalf of everyone at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, we are all deeply disappointed that we will not be able to perform for the wonderful audiences in Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Shanghai,” said BSO President and CEO Mark Volpe…

…The Boston Symphony Orchestra is currently exploring the possibility of scheduling some concerts and special events in Boston during the next two weeks, the period of time when the orchestra would have been on tour. Among the activities being considered is a BSO concert, free for the community of Boston.Further details will be announced by early next week.

The 2020 trip was to be the orchestra’s 29th international tour since the orchestra’s founding in 1881. On other occasions, the BSO has been forced to cancel or significantly alter tour dates and personnel due to external factors. They include the orchestra’s 1960 Asia-Australasia tour when the BSO canceled an appearance in Seoul, South Korea due to political unrest and in 1999 when the BSO canceled performances in Beijing due to the accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in former Yugoslavia…

…France has confirmed its first three cases of the Wuhan coronavirus on Friday, a fourth case on Tuesday, and a fifth case on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a jet carrying around 200 French citizens flew out of the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan on Froday, according to AFP journalists on board the flight.

The French military aircraft is bound for southern France, where the passengers will undergo a 14-day quarantine, in case they are carrying the new coronavirus.

The United States and Japan have already carried out airlifts from Wuhan for their citizens. A second US flight is planned in the coming days.

Britian also plans to evacuate around 200 of its citizens on Friday and Australia nad new Zealand are among others organizing similar operations.

The European Commission has said it is planning a flight to evacuate more European nationals…

…China’s death toll from the virus rose to 212 on Friday as hardest-hit Hubei province reported 42 new fatalities.

January 30, 2020:Reuters posted an article titled: “Two first coronavirus cases confirmed in Italy: prime minister”. From the article:

Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte on Thursday said there were two confirmed cases of coronavirus in Italy, the first two in the country since the emergency exploded.

Conte said Italy had closed air traffic to and from China.

“We have two confirmed cases of coronavirus in Italy,” the prime minister told a news conference, adding two Chinese tourists from China had contracted the virus…

January 30, 2020:American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) posted news titled: “1st person-to-person spread of coronavirus in U.S. reported; WHO declares public health emergency.” From the news:

…A novel coronavirus has spread from person-to-person in the U.S. for the first time, according to federal health officials.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, due to the increasing cases and countries affected.

A man in his 60s from Chicago appears to have caught the virus from his wife who caught it while traveling to China. The man, who is the sixth confirmed case in the U.S. had not traveled.

Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasized the two had been in close contact, and they are monitoring other potential contacts…

…Globally, there have been 7,834 cases of the respiratory virus and 170 deaths, according to the WHO. Most cases are in China, but they also have been reported in 18 other countries.

In the U.S., 92 people are awaiting test results…

January 30: 2020:Reuters posted an article titled: “Germany identifies fifth case of coronavirus”. From the article:

German health officials said on Thursday they had identified the country’s fifth case of the coronavirus in an employee working at the same firm as the other four infected individuals in the northern state of Bavaria.

“This concerns an employee at the company in Starnberg at which the other four known cases work,” said Bavaria’s health ministry in a statement, adding further details would be made available on Friday.

January 30, 2020: Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, tweeted: “Are Americans safe from the coronavirus? In only 3 years, Trump has eliminated the office of pandemic response, drastically scaled back the CDC’s overseas outbreak prevention efforts & discontinued a surveillance program meant to detect new viral threats.”

January 30, 2020: China correspondant for the BBC, Stephen McDonell, tweeted: #Coronavirus official figures update: 213 dead; 9720 infected; 15,238 suspected to have been infected; 179 recovered and discharged. Hubei alone 5806 infected and 204 dead. Wuhan city 2639 infected and 159 dead. #China.” This was the start of a short thread.

January 30, 2020: China correspondant for the BBC, Stephen McDonell, tweeted: “The number of those who’ve recovered and released does seem small. It can only mean that either they’re keeping people in hospital longer to make sure they’re OK and won’t pass the #coronavirus on or not monitoring that statistic very closely. #China” This was the end of a short thread.

Further to our prior communications regarding the current Coronavirus outbreak, we have temporarily suspended all flights to and from Guangzhou starting Friday 31st January 2020, until further notice. We however, clarify that our service between Nairobi and Bangkok remains operational.

Our consultation with the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs will continue and we will provide updates as the situation develops.

We apologizes to all customers for the inconvenience and reaffirm that the safety of our customers and staff remains our highest priority.

January 30, 2020: Monash University tweeted: “We’ve had to make some difficult decisions for the safety and wellbeing of our staff, students and the wider community due to the novel coronavirus, which has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.” This tweet was the start of a thread.

January 30, 2020: Monash University tweeted: “Among the difficult decisions made, all exams scheduled for February and the commencement of semseter one have been postponed.”

January 30, 2020: Monash University tweeted: “We’re continuing to monitor the rapidly evolving novel coronavirus situation acting accordingly with the advice from the Department of Human Services. For more information, see our fact sheet.” The tweet included a link to their fact sheet. This tweet was the end of the thread.

January 30, 2020:Reuters posted an article titled: “Spain to repatriate nationals from Wuhan in cooperation with UK”. From the article:

A group of Spanish citizens will fly back from the Chinese city of Wuhan in the coming hours as part of a joine repatriation operation with the United Kingdom amid concerns over coronavirus, Spain’s ministry said on Thursday.

Spain’s Health Minister Salvador Illa said earlier that the group of around 20 Spaniards will spend 14 days in quarantine when they return to the country.

Airlines have started suspending flights to China in the wake of a new coronavirus outbreak, which as of Thursday had killed 170 people and infected almost 8,000.

Air Canada said on Jan. 28 it was canceling select flights to Canad

Air France said on Jan. 30 it suspended all scheduled flights to and from mainland China until Feb. 9

Air India said it was cancelling its Mumbai-Dehli -Shanghai flight from Jan. 31 to Feb 14.

Air Seoul … said on Jan. 28 it had suspended all flights to China.

Air Tanzania – Tanzania’s state-owned carrier said it would postpone its maiden flights to China. It had planned to begin charter flights to China in February.

American Airlines said it would suspend flights from Los Angeles to Beijing and Shanghai from Feb. 9 to March 27.

British Airways said on Jan. 30 it has cancelled all flights to mainland China for a month.

Cathay Pacific Airways (Hong Kong) said it would progressively reduce capacity to and from mainland China by 50% or more from Jan. 30 to the end of March.

Delta Air Lines said on Jan. 29 it was reducing flights to China to 21 per week from 42 starting Feb. 6 through April 30.

Egyptair said on Jan. 30 it would suspend all flights to and from China starting Feb. 1.

Ethiopian Airlines on Jan. 30 denied reports it had suspended all flights to China. The airline’s statement contradicted its passenger call centre, which told Reuters earlier in the day that flights to China had been suspended.

Finnair (Finland) said on Jan. 28 it would suspend its flights to Nanjing and Beijing until the end of March after China suspended international group travel from the country. Finnair will suspend its three weekly flights between Helsinki and Beijing Daxing between Feb. 5 and March 29 and its two weekly flights between Helsinki and Nanjing between Feb. 8 and March 20.

Lion Air (Indonesia) said on Jan. 29 it would suspend all flights to China from February. The airline has suspended six flights from several Indonesian cities to China so far and will suspend the rest next month.

Lufthansa (Germany) said on Jan. 29 it was suspending Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines flights to and from China until Feb. 9. The airline continues to fly to Hong Kong, but it will stop taking bookings for flights to mainland China until the end of February.

SAS said on Jan. 30 it has decided to suspend all fights to and from Shanghai and Beijing from Jan. 31 until Feb. 9.

Turkish Airlines (Turkey) said on Jan. 30 it would decrease frequency on scheduled flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Xian between Feb. 5 and Feb. 29.

United Airlines (Chicago-based) said it would implement a second phase of flight cancellations between its hub cities in the United States and Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai, resulting in 332 additional roundtrips being called off through March 28. The cancellations will reduce the carrier’s daily departures for mainland China and Hong Kong to four daily depatures from 12. United had previously suspended 24 U.S. flights to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai between Feb. 1 and Feb. 8 because of a significant drop in demand.

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) has cancelled 22 China flights as a result of the Wuhan quarantines and normal manufacturing closures due to the Lunar New Year holiday, UPS Chief Executive David Abney said on Jan. 30. He did not specify how may flight cancellations were due to the virus.

Virgin Atlantic said on Jan. 30 it would suspend its daily operations to Shanghai for two weeks from Feb. 2. It cited declining demand for flights and the safety of its customers and staff.

January 30, 2020:Forbes posted an article titled: “Mammoth Biosciences Raises $45 Million For Crispr Diagnostics – And Its Tech Is Already Being Used Against Coronavirus”. It was written by Leah Rosenbaum. From the Article:

Mammoth Biosciences, a company that uses gene-editing technology Crispr for disease testing, said Thursday that it had raised $45 million in Series B funding to expand into treatments. The round, led by Dechung Capital and including new investor Verily, brings total funding to over $70 million…

…The new capital will allow Mammoth to expand into more traditional gene editing, which can be used to treat diseases. The company also plans to double in size, [Trevor] Martin [One of the founders of Mammoth Biosciences] says. Mammoth already moved into a new lab space on the South San Francisco campus of Verily, Alphabet’s life sciences company…

…The technology has big implications for diagnostics, Martin says. One of Mammoth’s current partnerships is with UCSF researcher Charles Chiu, who also sits on Mammoth’s scientific advisory board, to create a rapid diagnostic test for the new coronavirus that has sickened more than 6,100 people globally and killed 132…

January 30, 2020:New York State website posted news titled: “Governor Cuomo Provides Update on Novel Coronavirus While Reminding New Yorkers Flu is Still Prevalent”. From the news:

Governor Andrew Cuomo today advised New Yorkers that State and local health departments and healthcare partners are remaining vigilant and have a high state of readiness to protect New Yorkers from novel coronavirus. He also advised New Yorkers of ongoing risk for seasonal flu and urges them to take recommended precautions to prevent both. As of today, the New York State Department of Health has sent samples from 11 individuals to the CDC for testing for the novel coronavirus, with seven found to be negative and four more still pending. There are no confirmed cases in New York State.

Regarding flu however, the number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases and hospitalizations has increased every week since flu season began in October. Flu season occurs primarily from October through May, and the 2019-20 season has yet to peak.

“New York does not have one single confirmed case of novel coronavirus, but we are taking every necessary precaution to protect against its spread into our state. We have been here before, and I want to remind New Yorkers that it is much more likely that they will be exposted to the influenza virus than the coronavirus,” Governor Cuomo said. “I am urging New Yorkers to take basic precautions against the flu, such as regular hand washing and avoiding close contact with people who are sick. These measures will also help people avoid coming in contact with the novel coronavirus.”

The latest influenza surveillance report shows seasonal flu activity continues to increase in across New York State. Last week, 2,015 New Yorkers were hospitalized with lab-confirmed influenza, up eight percent from the previous week. This season, there have been 11,539 flu-related hospitalizations. In addition, last week, 15,012 laboratory-confirmed flu cases were reported to the State Department of Health, an 11 percent increase in cases from the week prior. There has been a total of 72,385 lab-confirmed cases reported this season, with three flu-associated pediatric deaths. Influenza activity data is available on the New York State Flu Tracker…

…Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, “As flu is considered widespread in New York State, taking everyday preventive steps such as washing hands often, covering a cough or sneeze and staying home with experiencing flu-like symptoms will help prevent the spread of the flu. These same actions will help protect New Yorkers against the novel coronavirus.”…

…While there is currently no vaccine for novel coronavirus, the same simple preventative measures for influenza can help stop the spread…

The Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) under the International Health Regulations (HR 2005) was reconvened on 30 January. WHO declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern. The Emergency Committee has provided advice to WHO, to the People’s Republic of China, to all countries, and to the global community, on measures to control this outbreak. The Committee believes that it is still possible to interrupt virus spread, provided that countries put in place strong measures to detect disease early, isolate and treat cases, trace contacts, and promote social distancing measures commensurate with the risk…

…Today, the first two confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease were reported in Italy; both had history to Wuhan City.

WHO’s Risk Communication Team has launched a new information platform called WHO Information Network for Epidemics (EPI-WIN). EPI-WIN will use a series of amplifiers to share tailored information for specific target groups. EPI-WIN began this week to establish connections to health care and travel and tourism sectors and will work with food and agriculture and business/employer sectors next week.

Countries, territories or areas with repeated confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV, 31 January 2020:

January 31, 2020: President Donald Trump tweeted: “The Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats keep chanting “fairness”, when they put on the most unfair Witch Hunt in the history of the U.S. Congress. They had 17 Witnesses, we were allowed ZERO, and no lawyers. They didn’t do their job and had no case. The Dems are scamming America!”

For context, President Trump was intensely focused…. on complaining about his impeachment hearing.

January 31, 2020:CBS News posted an article titled “Global airlines suspend flights to China on virus fears”. From the article:

…On Thursday, United said it would extend its suspended flights to China through March 28, cutting to just four daily departures its typical daily departures from the U.S. mainland China. United had said earlier the flight cutbacks would end on February 8.

Delta said Friday that all flights to and from China would stop operating from February 6, with the airline flying reduced schedules before then “to ensure customers looking to exit China have options to do so.” Delta said the last flight from China to the U.S. would leave on February 5.

British Airways said Wednesday that it is immediately suspending all flights to and from mainland China after the U.K. government warned against unnecessary travel to China amid a virus outbreak…

French flagship carrier Air France announced Thursday it was suspending all normal scheduled flights to and from mainland China in a bid to help stem the spread of the new coronavirus. There wre five confirmed cases of the virus in France as of Thursday.

Delta on Wednesday said it would temporarily reduce its weekly flights between the U.S. and China because of “significantly reduced customer demand.” Its flights will be cut from 42 weekly flights to 21 weekly flights, it said.

China has cut off access to the central city of Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak, and 16 other cities to prevent people from leaving and spreading the virus further. Hong Kong airlines are cutting the number of their flights to the mainlaind by about half through the end of March in response to government virus-control efforts…

Air Canada – suspending all direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai effective January 30 until February 29.

Lufthansa – suspending direct flights on Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airline fleets to or from mainland China until 9 February.

Air Seoul – first South Korean airline to suspend its flights to mainland Chinese destinations apart from Wuhan, stopping its flights to the cities of Zhangjiajie and Linyi.

Indonesia’s Air Lion – canceled more than 50 fights to China well into February.

Cathay Pacific Group – flights to 24 mainland destinations would be reduced to 240 weekly.

Finnair (Finland) – cancelling three weekly flights to Beijing Daxing International Airport through late March, as well as its twice-weekly flights to Nanjing.

Jetstar Asia – temporarily suspend flights to the Chinese cities of Hefei, Guiyang and Xuzhou starting Thursday throug the end of March due to drop in demand.

Eva Air (Taiwan) – partial cancellation of flights to and from mainland China for two weeks starting Feburary 2.

Kazakhstan – plans to suspend all flights, train and bus traffic and to halt issuing visas to Chinese nationals.

January 31, 2020:U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar declared a public health emergency for the entire United States to aid the nation’s healthcare community in responding to 2019 novel coronavirus. The press release stated that, in declaring the public health emergency, Secretary Azar acted within his authority under the Public Health Service Act. The declaration is retroactive to January 27, 2020.

January 31, 2020: The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control posted a risk assessment titled: “Risk assessment: Outbreak of acute respiratory syndrome associated with a novel coronavirus, China: first local transmission in the EU/EEA – third update”. From the risk assessment:

On 31 December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown aetiology was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. On 9 January 2020, China CDC reported a novel coronavirus (2019-n-CoV) as the causative agent of this outbreak, which is phylogenetically in the SARS-CoV clade.

As of 30 January 2020 09:00, more than 7,000 laboratory-confirmed 2019-n-CoV cases had been reported worldwide, mainly in China, but also with more than 70 imported cases from other countries around the world. Details on the epidemiological update for 2019-nCoV can be found on ECDC’s website.

So far, one hundred and seventy deaths associated with this virus have been reported. On 20 January, Chinese health authorities confirmed human-to-human transmission outside of Hubei province. Sixteen healthcare workers are reported to have been infected.

On 24 January 2020, the first three cases of 2019-n-CoV imported into the EU/EEA were identified in France and one additional case was reported in 29 January 2020. On 28 January, a cluster of four locally-acquired cases, with indirect links to Wuhan, was reported in Germany. On 29 January, Finland reported an imported case from Wuhan.

China CDC assesses the transmissibility of this virus to be sufficient for sustained community transmission without unprecedented control measures. Further cases and deaths in China are expected in the coming days and weeks. Further cases or clusters are also expected among travelers from China, mainly Hubei province. Therefore, health authorities in the EU/EEA Member States should remain vigilant and strengthen their capacity to respond to such an event.

There are considerable uncertainties in assessing the risk of this event, due to lack of detailed epidemiological analyses…

January 31, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan to Add New Pneumonia to Specified Disease List Sat.” From the article:

The Japanese government decided Friday to designate pneumonia caused by the new strain of coronavirus raging in China as a specified infectious disease Saturday, a week earlier than initially scheduled.

The government is considering covering the airfares for chartered flights it dispatched to Wuhan, the epicentr of the coronavirus crisis, to help Japanese nationals return home.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced these matters at the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliment said.

The government “will reject the entry into Japan of anybody infected who try to enter the country,” Abe told the committee.

The government is also considering what can be done to tighten immigration controls in order to limit the entry into Japan of those suspected but not confirmed to be infected, he added.

January 31, 2020: New South Wales Health posted another Novel Coronavirus Statistics (as of 10:30 AM that day). Number of cases confirmed: 4 (see below). Number of cases under investigation: 9. Number of cases cleared: 67.

Of the four confirmed cases, two patients have been discharged, a 53 year old male and a 35 year old male.

Two patients remain in hospital, a 21 year old female and a 43 year old male.

January 31, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “3rd Evacuation Flight Brings Home Japanese from Wuhan”. From the article:

The third charter jet sent to Wuhan by the Japanese government arrived at Tokyo International Airport at Hanada on Friday, bringing home 149 Japanese nationals from the Chinese city mired in the coronavirus crisis.

Some of the people are complaining of ill health, officials said.

Returnees who show no symptoms after taking medical checks will be transferred to designated facilities to monitor their health condition for a while.

A total of 565 Japanese nationals were brought back to Japan aboard three government-chartered planes to Wuhan to evacuate all Japanese nationals who want to return home during the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the deadly virus.

According to the health ministry, three people in their 40s to 50s who were aboard the first flight, which arrived in Japan Wednesday, tested positive for the virus. Two of them did not show symptoms of the coronavirus-caused pneumonia.

January 31, 2020: ABC News Australia posted an article titled: “Chinese women’s soccer team quarantined in Brisbane hotel as state confirms first coronavirus case”. It was written by Talissa Siganto. From the article:

Queensland health officials have revealed the Chinse women’s national soccer team is being quarantined in Brisbane over concerns about the possible spread of coronavirus.

The announcement came shortly before the state’s chief officer, Jeannette Young, confirmed Queensland’s first case of the illness.

“A 44-year-old Chinese national, who is currently isolated in the Gold Coast University Hospital, has been confirmed to have novel coronavirus,” Dr. Young said in a statement on Wednesday night.

“The man, who is from the city of Wuhan (Hubei Province) is stable.”…

…Dr Young earlier said 32 people in the Chinese women’s soccor squad – including players and staff – travelled through the city of Wuhan one week ago, where the outbreak is believed to have begun.

In light of this, Dr Young said they had been placed in a Brisbane hotel until February 5…

…In a statement, Football Federation Ausralia (FFA) said the health and wellbeing of all players, staff and spectators was “of paramount importance to both FFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)”.

“FFA is working with the Australian Government and AFC to explore the ramifications of this advice and how it may affect the staging of the Women’ Olympic Football Tournament Qualifiers,” the FFA said…

…The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has also changed the order of home matches to be played by Chinese clubs in the AFC Champions League group stage due to the coronavirus, Asian soccer’s governing body has confirmed.

The move follows consulatition with the Chinese Football Assocation (CFA) and means that home games of the four Chinese clubs on the first three match days will be rescheduled and played away by swapping the order with theri opponents…

…According to the revised schedule, Beijing Guoan will open their campaign at FC Seoul on February 11 and visit Melbourne Victory on March 3…

January 31, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “The total number of confirmed cases of the 2019 novel #coronavirus reported from mainland China to date is 11,791. This includes 1,795 severe cases and 259 people who have died. #nCoV #nCoV2019 #2019nCov” This tweet was the start of a thread.

January 31, 2020: World Health Organization Western Pacific tweeted: “It is importan to note that case numbers reflect date reported, not date of illness onset. #coronavirus #nCoV #nCoV2019 #2019nCoV”. This was the last tweet in the thread.

January 31, 2020: Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan Travel Agencies Hit by Cancellations of China Tours”. From the article:

Massive cancellations of China-bound package tours from Japan are hitting Japanese travel agencies in the wake of the outbreak of pneumonia blamed on a new strain of coronavirus spreading from Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei Province.

As the outbreak spread throughout the world, the Japanese tourism industry is concerned that the coronavirus crisis may affect overall demand for travel abroad, sources familiar with the situation said.

The outbreak is also causing travel agencies to suspend China-bound package tours not including visists to Hubei, because major tourism spots outside the province, such as the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Great Wall of China, have been closed amid the crisis.

In an unusual move, JTB Corp. and H.I.S. Co <9603> have decided to give full refunds to customers for tours anywhere in China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau, without collectin cancellation fees, even if they cancel their tours just before departure.

JTB, Club Tourism International Inc. and Hankyu Travel International Co. have halted tours to Wuhan after Japan’s Foreign Ministry raised its travel alert related to infectious diseases. JTB plans to continue the suspension until the advisory is lowered to Level One from the current Level 3, which calls for avoiding travel to designated areas.

January 31, 2020:UK Department of Health and Social Care posted news titled: “CMO confirms cases of coronavirus in England”. It is a statement from Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, about cases of novel coronavirus in England.

We can confirm that 2 patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus. The patients are receiving specialist NHS care, and we are using tried and tested infection control procedures to prevent further spread of the virus.

The NHS is extremely well-prepared and used to managing infections and we are already working rapidly to identify any contacts the patients had, to prevent further spread.

We have been preparing for UK cases of novel coronavirus and we have robust infection control measures in place to respond immediately. We are continuing to work closely with the World Health Organization and the international community as the outbreak in China develops to ensure we are ready for all eventualities.

The western Japan city of Nara will put off its plan to introduce the accommodation tax during fiscal year 2020, to limit damage on the city’s tourism industry amid the outbreak of a new coronavirus, its mayor said Friday.

Mayor Motonobu Nakgawa told a press conference that the city will take various factors into consideration and decide when to introduce the tax after monitoring the situation concerning the virus.

A city survey of 13 large hotels with 100 rooms or more each showed that reservations for 3,156 guests, mainly on group tours from China, had been cancelled as of Thursday, according to the city.

On Tuesday, the health ministry said that a Japanese male bus driver in Nara Prefecture has been confirmed as infected with the virus. He drove tourists from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the center of the outbreak.

“It has been confirmed that their is obious damage (to tourism). We need to stop for now to see how things go.” Nakagawa said.

January 31, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted “Coronavirus: 3 New Cases in Japan, Total Now 17”. The article included a video.

January 31, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan Confirms 2 More Symptomless Returnees with New Coronavirus”. From the article:

Two Japanese nationals who returned from Wuhan on Thursday aboard the second government-chartered flight have been found to be infected with the new coronavirus that spread from the Chinese city and has caused an outbreak of pneumonia, the Japanese health ministry said Friday.

A man in his 30s and another man in his 50s tested positive for the virus, but have no symptoms. The number of returnees who are infected with the coronavirus but have no symptoms now stands at four. The other people returned to Japan on Wednesday aboard the first chartered flight.

A total of 210 Japanese nationals returned home on the second chartered plane. The first flight brought home 206 people, with three of them, including the two symptomless people, found to have the coronavirus.

The third flight chartered by the Japanese government for the evaucation operations arrived at Tokyo International Airport in Haneda on Friday moring with 149 passengers from Wuhan, bringing the total number of Japanese people brought back from the city and other parts of Hubei Province to 565.

Twenty-five of the 149 passengers complained of symptoms such as coughing and were admitted to hospitals in Tokyo. The remaining passengers were sent to the National Institute of Public Health in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, or the Customs Training Institute in Kasiwa, Chiba Prefecture, east of the Japanese capital, for monitoring

January 31, 2020: CDC tweeted: “The CDC, under statutory authority of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, has issued federal quarantine orders to all 195 United States citizens who repatriated to the U.S. on January 29, 2020. The quarantine will last 14 days from when the plane left Wuhan, China.” This tweet was the start of a thread.

January 31, 2020: CDC tweeted: “This action is a precautionary and preventative step to maximize the containment of the virus in the interest of the health of the American public. The current epidemic in Mainland China has demonstrated the #2019nCoV’s capacity to spread globally.”

January 31, 2020: CDC tweeted: “This legal order is part of a public health response that is necessary to prevent the transmission and spread of this virus in the U.S. This federal quarantine will protect the health of the repatriated US citizens, their families, and their communities. #2019nCoV”

January 31, 2020: CDC tweeted: “CDC is committed to protecting the health & safety of all Americans. We continue to believe the immediate risk to the larger American public is low at this time. The #2019nCoV outbreak investigation is ongoing. For updates:” The tweet included a link to the CDC website. This was the last tweet in the thread.

January 31, 2020:The Desert Sun posted an article titled: “‘A whole different ballgame’: Wuhan flight passengers at March Air Reserve Base under quarantine; evacuee shares experience”. It was written by Marie McCain and wires. From the article:

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday ordered the quarantine of all 195 U.S. evacuees from Wuhan, China, who are being screened for symptoms of the coronavirus at March Air Reserve Base near Moreno Valley.

So far, none of them have exhibited symptoms of the virus, a Riverside County spokeswoman said Friday. Nevertheless, the quarantine order means they will have to remain on base for the full 14-day incubation period…

…Federal officials said the CDC quarantine in Southern California was one of the reasons the coronavirus outbreak was declared a public health emergency in the United States.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, on Friday, made that announcement along with another that President Donald Trump will temporarily bar entry to the U.S. of foreign nationals believed to be at risk of transmitting the virus. The new restrictions begin Sunday afternoon…

…Americans returning from Hubei province, the center of the outbreak, will be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine. Others returning from elsewhere in China will be allowed to self-monitor their condition for a similar period.

The public health announcement came hours after the State Department issued a level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory, the highest grade of warning, and told Americans in China to consider departing using commercial means…

…Friday’s order quarantining U.S. evacuees at March Air Reserve Base is the first time a federal quarantine has been ordered since the 1960s, when one was instituted over concern about potential spread of smallpox, the CDC said.

A day earlier, Riverside County health ifficials ordered the quarantine of one of the evacuees after that person attempted to leave the base hours after the group arrived.

January 31, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japan to Bar Foreigners with Recent Stays in Hubei”. From the article:

Japan’s government decided Friday to impose a temporary ban on entry by all foreigners with recent histories of staying in China’s Hubei Province, including its capital, Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak of a new coronavirus.

The entry ban will be in place “for the time being” from Saturday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a meeting on the day of the government’s headquarters for responding to the ongoing spread of the new coronavirus.

The move comes after the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency on Thursday, in the face of the spread of the coronavirus that has caused numerous people to develop pneumonia in China and other parts of the world.

It will be the first time for the Japanese government to impose an entry ban tha specifies a certain area.

Specifically, the govenrment will not accept entry applications form foreigners with histories of being in Hubei within the past 14 days and holders of Chinese passports issued by the province, regardless of whether they have been confirmed to have the virus or not. “We can’t deal with this unprecedented crisis if we stick to precedents,” the prime minister stressed, instructing cabinet ministers to respond flexibly.

January 31, 2020:Nippon.com (News from Japan) posted an article titled: “Japanese Institute Succeeds in Isolating Wuhan Coronavirus”. From the article:

Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Friday that it has succeeded in cultivating and isolating the new coronavirus, first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan, from a person in Japan who has been confirmed to have the virus.

Using the isolated virus, the institute will start work to develop a vaccine and a drug for the coronavirus, as well as a test kit capable of quick diagnosis. It will also offer the isolated virus to researchers and companies, while trying to discover the infection mechanism and promoting research on the toxicity of the virus.

The isolated virus’ gene sequences 99.9 pct matched those released by the Chinese government, according to the Japanese institute.

In the isolated virus, there was no gene mutation leading to higher infectiousness or toxicity, the institute said.

January 31, 2020: The White House posted a presidential proclamation titled: “Proclamation on Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons who Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus”. From the proclamation:

The United States has confirmed cases of individuals who have a severe acute respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (“2019-nCoV”) (“the virus”) first detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China (“China”). The virus was discovered in China in December 2019. As of Janiary 31, 2020, Chinese health officials have reported approximately 10,000 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV in China, more than the number of confirmed cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) during its 2003 outbreak. An additional 114 cases have been confirmed across 22 other countries; in several of these cases, the infected individuals had not visited China. More than 200 people have died from the virus, all in China…

…Many of the individuals with the earliest confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV in Wuhan, China had some link to a large seafood and live animal market, suggesting animal-to-human transmission. Later, a growing number of infected individuals reportedly did not have exposure to animal markets, indicating human-to-human transmission. Chinese officials now report that sustained human-to-human tranmission of the virus is occuring in China. Manifestations of severe disease have included severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, and multi-organ failure.

Neighboring jurisdictions have taken swift action to protect their citizens by closing off travel between territories and China. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared 2019-nCoV outbreak a public health emergency of international concern…

…The CDC is closely monitoring the situation in the United States, is conducting enhanced entry screening at 5 United States airports where the majority of travelers from Wuhan arrive, and is enhancing illness response capacity at the 20 ports of entry where CDC medical screening stations are located. The CDC is also supporting States in conducting contact investigations of confirmed 2019-nCoV cases identified within the United States. The CDC has confrimed that the virus has spread between two people in the United States, representing the first instance of person-to-person transmission of the virus within the United States. The CDC, along with state and local health departments, has limited resources and the public health system could be overwhelmed if sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus occured in the United States. Sustained human-to-human transmission has the potential to have cascading public health, economic national security, and societal consequences.

During Fiscal Year 2019, an average of more than 14,000 people traveled to the United States from China each day, via both direct and indirect flights. The United States Government is unable to effectively evaluate and monitor all of the travelers continuing to arrive from China. The potential for widespread transmission of the virus by infected individuals seeking to enter the United States threatens the security of our transporation system and infrastructure and the national security. Given the importants of protecting persons within the United States from the trheat of this harmful communicable disease, I have determined that it is in the interests of the United States to take action to restrict and suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of all aliens who were physically present within the People’s Republic of China, excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States. I have also determined that the United States should take all necessary and appropriate measurs to facilitate orderly medical screening and, where appropriate, quarantine of persons allowed to enter the United States who may have been exposed to this virus….

Here is the short version of who this proclamation allows entry to:

any lawful permanent resident of the United States

any alien who is the spouse of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident

any alien who is the parent or legal guardian of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, provided that the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is unmarried and under the age of 21

any alien who is the sibling of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, provided that both are unmarried and under the age of 21

any alien who is the child, foster child, or ward of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or who is a prospective adoptee seeking to enter the United States pursuant to the IR-4 or IH-4 visa classifications

any alien traveling at the invitation of the United States Government for a purpose related to containment or mitigation of the virus

any alien traveling as a nonimmigrant under section as a crewmember or any alien otherwise travling to the United States as air or sea crew

any alien seeking entry into or transiting the United States as a foreign government official or immediate family member of an official

any alien whose entry would not pose a significant risk of introducing, transmitting, or spreading the virus, as determined by the CDC Director, or his designee

any alien whose entry would further important United States law enforcement objectives, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees based on a recommendation of the Attorney General or his designee

any alien whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their designees.

Here is what this proclamation allows:

The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish procedures to enforce this proclamation.

The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that any alien subject to this proclamation does not board an aircraft traveling to the United States.

The Secretary of Homeland Security to establish standards and procedures to ensure the application and implementation of this proclamation at United States seaports and in between all ports of entry

Any alien who circumvents the application of this proclimation through fraud, willful misrepresentation of a material fact, or illegal entry shall be a priority for removal by the Department of Homeland Security.

The Secretary of Homeland Security is to take all necessary and appropriate steps to regulate travel of persons and aircraft to the United States to facilitate the orderly medical screening and, where appropriate, quarantine of persons who enter the United States and who may have been exposed to the virus.

This proclamation shall remain in effect until terminated by the President. The Secretary of Health and Human Serices shall, as circumstances warrant and no more than 15 days after the date of this order and every 15 days thereafter, recommend that the President continue, modify, or terminate this proclamation.

The proclamation is effective at 5:00 p.m. eastern standard time on February 2, 2020.

January 31, 2020:The White House posted a press briefing titled: “Press Briefing by Members of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force”. From the press briefing:

Secretary Azar: Well, good afternoon, everyone. I’m Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Chairman of the President’s Task Force on the Novel Coronavirus.

I’m going to start by turning things over to Dr. Robert Redfield, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to discuss the current situation on the novel coronavirus. Dr. Redfield.

Dr. Redfield: Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Let me give you an update on the current situation of the novel coronavirus. First though, I want to emphasize that this is a serious health situation in China, but I want to emphasize that the risk to the American public currently is low. Our goal is to do all we can to keep it that way.

Second, I want to recognize the concern that the American public may have. And I want to reiterate what I just said: Currently, the risk of the American public is low.

As of today, there are nearly 9,700 cases in China, with more than 200 deaths. Additionally, currently there are another 23 countries that have confirmed, totally, 132 cases. This also includes 12 individuals who have been confirmed in six countries who did not travel to China…

…To date, we have confirmed six cases of the novel virus in the United States. The most recent case had no travel history to China, but was a close personal contact of one of the previous cases that we had identified through our aggressive contact tracing. In addition, there are currently 191 individuals that are under investigation…

…Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease: The issue now with this is that there’s a lot of unknowns. As you can see just from the media, the number of cases have steeply inclined each and every day. You know that, in the beginning, we were not sure if there were asymptomatic infection, which would make it a much broader outbreak than what we’re seeing. Now we know for sure there are.

It was not clear whether an asymptomatic person could transmit it to someone while they were asymptomatic. Now we know from a recent report from Germany that that is absolutely the case…

There are a number of countries outside China that have travel-related cases. And now what we’re seeing is that there are secondary cases from them, and, as Bob mentioned, we also have that in this country. The WHO has issued, as you know, a Public Health Emergency of International Conern declaration…

…Secretary Azar: Following the World Health Organization’s decision to declare the 2019 novel coronavirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, I have today declared that the 2019 novel coronavirus presents a public health emergency in the United States. The actions we have taken and continue to take complement – complement the work of China and the World Health Organization to contain the outbreak within China.

In accordance with the declaration, beginning at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time; Sunday, February the 2nd, the United States government will implement temporary measures to increase our abilities to detect and contain the coronavirus proactively and aggressively. Any U.S. citizen returning o the United States who has been in Hubei Province in the previous 14 days will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine to ensure they are they are provided proper medical care and health screening…

South Korea on Friday confirmed five more cases of the deadly coronavirus, bringing the total in the country to 11, including two people who returned from Wuhan via the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao last week.

South Korea and Thailand have also confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission, as four individuals contracted the virus without travelling to China, according to Seoul and Bangkok’s health officials.

In Seoul, one of them was a man in his 50s who developed symptoms after dining with South Korea’s third confirmed patient at a restaurant in the capital.

The first patient to contract the virus inside Thailand was a local taxi driver, said Tanarak Pipat, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control…

…The taxi driver was one of the five other coronavirus cases confirmed in Thailand on Friday.

The new South Korean cases emerged after 368 of the country’s citizens were evacuated to two facilities in Asan and Jincheon, cities about 80km south of Seoul, where they will be isolated.

The country is set to send a second flight to Wuhan to evacuate some 300 more Korean citizens in the coming days.

A total of 18 South Korean evacuees who arrived from Wuhan have been hospitalized after showing symptoms, Seoul’s health authorities said on Friday, as concerns mount about a wider outbreak of the virus…

…In response to the coronavirus crisis, North Korea postponed plans to tear down South Korean-made hotels and other facilities at the North’s Diamond Mountain resort to prevent the spread of a new virus that has reached the South after sickening thousands in China..

January 31, 2020:German Federal Foreign Office posted a press release titled: “Foreign Minister Maas on the evacuation of Germans from Wuhan.” From the press release:

We now have all the permits from the Chinese authorities that we need to evacuate our citizens. As I speak, a Bundeswehr plane is setting off for China, to fly the German nationals out.

I am relieved that we have got to this stage, that an end will now be put to the difficult situation in which our citizens find themselves in Wuhan, that the people who want to leave can now be flow out by us.

We’re talking about over 100 people. None of them has been infected. None of them is even suspected of having the virus. To guarantee the health and safety of the population in Germany, the people who have been evacuated from China will be quarantined for two weeks on Bundswher premises in order to be absolutely sure that none of the evacuees is carrying the virus.

I would like to thank the Chinese Government for working together with us on this. My thanks also go to the Crisis Response Centre, the authorities involved and our consular teams in China. We hope that everyone who comes back will be in good health and will stay that way – regardless of the fact that they will be monitored by medics here

January 31, 2020:BBC News posted an article titled: “Coronavirus: Two cases confirmed in UK”. From the article:

Two people from the same family have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, the chief medical officer for England has announced.

The Chinese nationals were guests at the Staycity apartment-hotel in York, before being taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle…

…The two people with coronavirus were moved from their York apartment-hotel to be treated initially at Castle Hill Hospital in Hull, before being taken to the infectious diseases unit in Newcastle.

Public Health England said there was minimal risk of infection to either guests or staff at the Staycity property in York.

Those identified as close contacts would be given health advic about symptoms and an emergency number in case they became unwell – but would’nt be quarantined, PHE said.

Prof Whitty said the specialist unit at the Newcastle hospital was experienced in treating people with infectious diseases and there was a “high chance people would get better,” based on current information.

“A lot of people will end up with a relatively minor disease,” he said.

The small number who go on to be more seriously ill tend to develop respiratory problems which “will be dealt with as anyone else with a respiratory disease,” Prof Whitty added.

Some GPs have started sending text messages to patients, telling them to stay away from their local surgery and phone them instead, if they feel unwell and have been to China in the last two weeks…

…VIrus experts said they were not surprised to see cases in the UK but there was no reason to panic.

January 31, 2020; NDTV (India) posted an article titled: “Kerala Student With Coronavirus, Moved To Hospital”. From the article:

The Kerala girl who has been the first patient to test positive for coronavirus case in India has been shifted to the Thissur Medical College hospital and her condition is improving, according to health authorities.

According to the latest figures 1,053 people in various parts of the state are under observation for suspected cases of coronavirus, with 15 people kept in isolation wards in various hospitals in the state.

It was on Thursday that state Health Minister K.K. Shailaja told the media that a girl student who arrived here from China’s Wuhan (where the virus was first reported) was the first confirmed case of the virus in the country…

…On Friday, it has been decided to contact all the passngers who travelled on a private airline flight from Kolkata to Cochin on January 23 – the flight that the girl student was travelling.

It was on January 22 that this girl traveled from Beijing to Kolkata…

January 31, 2020:Reuters posted an article titled: “Russia reports first coronavirus cases, restricts China air travel”. It was written by Olesya Astakhova and Tom Balmforth. From the article:

Russia reported its first two cases of coronavirus on Friday and restricted flights direct to China, its biggest trade partner, as Russians complained of rising prices for medical masks and anti-virus medicine.

The two infected people, both Chinese nationals, are in a stable condition and have been quarantined, officials said.

One of the cases was identified in the Sibrerian region of Tyumen and the other in the far eastern Zabaykalsky region, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said…

…Russia will halt all direct flights to China from 2100 GMT on Friday, with the exception of those operated by its national arline, Aeroflot, Golikova said.

Four Chinese airlines – China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Air China, China Eastern – will still be able to fly to Moscow, Golikova and Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport said.

All China-related flights will be routed through a separate terminal at the Sheremetyevo Airport, Aeroflot said, to minimize contact between those flights and other passengers.

Russia’s minor Ikar airline will also continue its flights between Moscow and China, the airport said…

January 31, 2020:The Guardian posted an article titled: “Coronavirus outbreak: Britons fly out of Wuhan as death toll passes 200”. It was written by Justin McCurry and Rebecca Ratcliffe. From the article:

A plane carrying more than 100 British and other EU nationals trapped in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, has left for the UK after Chinese spouses and partners were given permission to travel.

The chartered flight left Wuhan at 9:45am local time in Friday, the Foreign Office said in a statement. The plane was carrying 83 British people and 27 foreign nationals, and it was scheduled to land at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire at 1pm UK time.

Two patients in England, who are members of the same family, were also revealed on Friday to have tested positive for coronavirus. The Department of Health declined to say where in England the patients were from but it is understood they are not in the Wirral area, where a special facility has been set up to quarantine Britons evacuated from Wuhan.

The flight will continue on to Spain following the stopover in the UK, at which point EU nationals’ home countries will take responsibility for them, it added…

January 31, 2020:Reuters posted an article titled: “German coronavirus cases climb to six after child infected: ministry”. From the article:

A new coronavirus that is spreading around the world has been confirmed in a child in Germany, the southern state of Bavaria said on Friday, bringing the total number of known cases in Germany to six.

The new case is a child of an employee at the same firm where four more individuals in the Munich area were infected, the state health ministry said in a statement.

All affected persons are in stable condition, the ministry said.

January 31, 2020:The Local SE posted an article titled: “First case of coronavirus confrimed in Sweden” From the article:

…A patient at the Ryhov County Hospital in Jönköping central-southern Sweden, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhälsomyndigheten) confirmed.

The patient is a woman in her 20s who landed in Sweden on January 24th after visiting the Wuhan area in China. At that point she had no symptoms, the agency said.

But a few days later she developed a cough and contacted the health services in Jönköping,

She is currently being kept in isolation at the clinic for infectious diseases and is not seriously ill…

January 31, 2020: The Guardian reported that Lunar New Year celebrations across the UK have been cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak. Events in Oxford, Cambridge, Colchester, Exeter, Manchester, Wigan and Bristol have all been called off.

January 31, 2020:Reuters posted an article titled: “UPDATE-1 Spain confirms first case of coronavirus – Health Ministry”. From the article:

Spain has confirmed the country’s first case of coronavirus after a man was diagnosed on the remote island of La Gomera in the Canaries, the Health Ministry said late on Friday.

The patient is part of a group of five people taken into observation on the island and isolated on Thursday after it was found some of them had come into contact with a German man diagnosed with the virus, the ministry said.

The diagnosis from Spain’s National Centre for Microbioloty came shortlyafter a plane transporting a group of 27 EU nationals from the virus;s epicentre in the Chinese city of Wuhan landed in Madrid.

None of the repatraited Spaniards exhibited symptoms of the virus, but they will be quarantined at a military hospital in Madrid and held under observation for 14 days, the health ministry said.

Four Danish citizens and one Norwegian who were also aboard the plane will be flown back to their home countries…

January 31, 2020:Santa Clara County Public Health (California) posted a press release titled: “County of Santa Clara Public Health Department Reports First Case of Novel (new) Coronavirus”. From the press release:

…The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department received confirmation today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that an adult male resident of the county has tested positive for the novel (new) coronavirus.

This case recently traveled to Wuhan, China and became ill upon returning home. He was seen at a local clinic and hospital, but never was sick enough to require hospitalization. He is in stable condition and is self-isolating at home, and he did not leave home while he had symptoms except to seek medical care. Public Health Department staff are in regular contact and monitoring his symptoms and condition. Further information about the individual will not be released for reasons of medical privacy…

…This is the only case of novel coronavirus in Santa Clara County. There are currently six other confirmed cases in the United States…

January 31, 2020: U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (Democrat – Michigan’s 12th District) sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg (CEO Facebook), Susan Wojcicki (CEO YouTube), Jack Dorsey (CEO Twitter) and Alex Zhu (CEO TIkTok), asking them to take steps to stop the spread of misinfirmation as it relates to coronavirus on their platforms. From the letter:

…With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the Coronavirus a public health emergency, rising fatalities and evidence of person to person transmission this letter is being sent to you with concerns and questions on how your platforms are handling inaccurate and misleading information surrounding the dangers and risks associated with this virus.

During a global health emergency, it is vital to the public interest that individuals have access to timely and accurate information. As expert’s knowledge and understanding about this virus grows, so too will the necessity of accurate and reliable information for the world. As global companies, a rampant spread of inaccurate information will have a decidely negative impact on the response efforts to contain and mitigate thsi global health emergency.

With any crisis, fear and the need to understand what is happening can cloud judgement and push us to look for answers, credible or not. This is not a new phenomenon, but what is new is the global reach, impact, and negative effects finding wrong or incomplete answers will have, not only on a given user, but to their families and communities worldwide. The actions you choose to take will impact the lives of your users and those around them.

Unlike nation-state disinformation campaiogns, the effects on users and the public could very well facilitate the continued spread of Coronavirus and more deaths. With that please provide responses to the following questions.

(1) Is your company working with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or the WHO in order to prioritize and boost timely and accurate information regarding the Coronavirus? And how specifically are you ensuring that the information on your platform is accurate and continues to be accurate as experts understanding of this virus evolves?

(2) Does your platform have policies and practices in place to limit, flag, or demote inaccurate user generated content pertaining to public health emergencies?

(3) If so, what are these policies and practices? And does the public have access to them?

(4) Are human content moderators or technology solutions being used to identify and flag these types of inaccurate content?

Much like this virus, misinformation, willful or benign in nature, will continue to spread until measures are taken to limit exposure and treat symptoms. I urge you to take serious action in addressing this issue and appreciate your attention to this matter. A prompt response is appreciated.

CDC today confirmed another infection with 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the United States that was detected in California. The patient recently returned from Wuhan, China, where an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by this novel coronavirus has been ongoing since December 2019. This brings the total of number of 2019-nCoV cases in the United States to 7.

January 31, 2020:BuzzFeed News posted an article titled: “A Pro-Trump Blog Doxed a Chinese Scientist It Falsely Accused Of Creating The Coronavirus As A Bioweapon”. It was written by Ryan Broderick. From the article:

A popular pro-Trump website has released the personal information of a scientist from Wuhan, China, falsely accusing them of creating the coronavirus as a bioweapon, in a plot it said is the real-life version of the video game Resident Evil.

On Wednesday, far-right news site Zero Hedge claimed without evidence that a scientist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology created the strain of the virus that has led the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency. The outbreak has grown to more than 9,776 cases, with 118 outside of China. The coronavirus has killed 213 people, all in China.

It concludes, “if anyone wants to find out what really caused the coronavirus pandemic that has infected thousands of people in China and around the globe, they should probably pay [the Chinese scientist] a visit.” It also lists their email address and a phone number…

…Zero Hedge’s Twitter account was suspended Friday, following the publication of the scientist’s name.

The California Department of Public Health has been informed that one person in Santa Clara County has tested positive for novel coronavirus 2019. This information is confirmed by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Laboratory.

Currently, the California Department of Public Health confirms a total of three cases of novel coronavirus in California: one individual in Santa Clara County, one individual in Los Angeles County, and one individual in Orange County have tested positive for novel coronavirus…

…At this time no other persons infected with novel coronavirus (nCoV 2019) have been identified in California. Currently, the immediate health risk from novel coronavirus 2019 to the general public is low.

It is very important for people who have recently traveled and who become ill to notify their health care provider of their travel history. Those who have recently traveled to China or who have had contact with a person with possible novel coronavirus infection should contact their local health department or health care provider.

January 31, 2020: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted a media statement titled: “CDC Issues Federal Quarantine Order to Repatriated U.S. Citizens at March Air Reserve Base.” From the media statement:

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), under the statutory authority of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, has issued federal quarantine orders to all 195 United States citizens who repatriated to the U.S. on January 29, 2020. The quarantine will last 14 days from when the plane left Wuhan, China. This action is a precautionary and preventative step to maximize the containment of the virus in the interest of the health of the American public.

This legal order will protect the health of the repatriated citizens, their families, and their communities. These individuals will continue to be housed at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California. Medical staff will continue to monitor the health of each traveler, including temperature checks and observations for respiratory symptoms. If an individual presents symptoms, medical care will be readily available. Even if a screening test comes back negative from CDC’s laboratory results, it does not conclusively mean an individual is at no risk of developing the disease over the likely 14-day incubation period.

This legal order is part of a public health response that is necessary to prevent the transmission and speed of this virus in the U.S. The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The current epidemic in Mainland China has demonstrated the virus’s capacity to spread globally. CDC is using one of the tools in our toolbox as a way to contain the potential impact of this novel virus on the United States.

This outbreak investigation is ongoing; we learn more every day about this newly emerging virus. First and formost, CDC is committed to protecting the health and safety of all Americans. While CDC continues to believe the immediate risk to the larger American public is low at this time, this legal order has been put in place as a necessary step to fully assess and care for these repatriated Americans, protecting them, their loved ones, and their communities…

A Timeline of COVID-19 – January 2020 is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites.

Published by Jen

Podcaster since 2005. Freelance writer since 2010. Former host of the Shattered Soulstone podcast - now the editor. Host of the Words of Jen Podcast and the Jen's Lore Corner Podcast. Plagued by several chronic illnesses.
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